Barcelona ruled out as venue for Andorra game

IT’S a case of contrasting fortunes on the venue front for Irish football, with Barcelona officially ruled out as the location for Ireland’s game against Andorra in October but Shamrock Rovers thrown a lifeline which means they still hope to stage their Europa League games in Tallaght.

The FAI yesterday confirmed that their appeal to UEFA to have the European Championship qualifier on October 7 played in Barcelona has been turned down.

The match will now take place in the tiny, 1,800-capacity Estadi Comunal, Andorra, where Russia and Slovakia have already had to play their group games.

The FAI said that it is now exploring the possibility of arranging a fan zone in Barcelona to accommodate fans who had made travel arrangements prior to UEFA’s decision.

Meanwhile, confounding reports earlier in the day that their Europa League home games would be played in the Aviva Stadium, Shamrock Rovers are now in a race against time to meet a UEFA-imposed deadline of next Tuesday for the upgrading of their stadium.

Principally, the work involves installing 4,000 extra seats to bring the capacity up to 10,000 for the Europa League group games which begins with the visit to Dublin of Rubin Kazan on September 15.

In domestic news, non-league Sheriff YC’s startling 3-2 victory over Shelbourne in the FAI Ford Cup has been called into question by a possible player eligibility issue involving the AUL club. The FAI’s Domestic Committee wrote yesterday to Sheriff YC, the Athletic Union League and the Competition Manager requesting their attendance at a meeting to discuss the matter this coming Friday.

This evening, meanwhile, First Division Monaghan United will look to dethrone cup holders Sligo Rovers when the two meet in their fourth round replay at Gortakeegan. Kick-off is at 8pm.