Barcelona ‘really surprised’ by FAI’s decision

BARCELONA were “really surprised” by what the club described as the “unbelievable situation” arising out of the FAI’s decision not to permit the proposed Thomond Park friendly against Limerick to go ahead.

Prior to the final confirmation that they would have to take their pre-season plans elsewhere, the Catalan club had copied an email to both Limerick and the FAI. In the correspondence seen by the Irish Examiner, an apparently exasperated Barca representative asked for a clear “yes or no” response on whether the game could go ahead.

Among the points made in the email were that, beyond a preliminary discussion, Barca had “never started negotiations with the FAI for a game in 2011”; that they had never granted exclusivity to the FAI or any other agents to arrange a friendly game in Ireland; and that the club was “really happy” with the offer and conditions pertaining to the proposed Thomond game in July.