Brittany’s offer to fill void left by England rejected by FAI

THE FAI have declined an invitation from the Brittany Football Association to play a Euro 2012 warm-up game in May.

There appeared to be premature confirmation of such a game across social media yesterday with the appearance of an image of a poster purporting to advertise a fixture between the Republic of Ireland and Brittany in Nantes on May 26.

Although not affiliated to UEFA or FIFA, the Breton national side — which draws its players from the French leagues — does play occasional friendlies under the auspices of the French Football Federation.

However, FAI sources, while admitting they had been in receipt of an invitation from the Brittany FA, were quick to dismiss the idea as “not a runner”.

That means Ireland’s precise plans in the immediate run-up to the Euro finals have still be to clarified, following the news that England have effectively ruled out a friendly in Dublin in advance of the tournament.

Following an inspection of the facilities, Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has settled on Gdynia, near Gdansk, as the squad’s base for the group stages of the Euro finals but has not yet decided upon a venue for a pre-tournament training camp.