Scots in Carling Nations cash row

THE inaugural Carling Four Nations Cup has left a bitter aftertaste with the Scottish Football Association reportedly at loggerheads with the Republic, Northern Ireland and Wales over what is claimed to be an as yet unpaid fee of £1.2m (€1.4m).

It’s understood that this figure had been negotiated down from an original £2m (€2.38m) following the failure of the tournament to generate hoped-for ticket sales. However, the rival associations say that they are still in negotiation with the Scots and have expressed disappointment that the dispute has entered the public domain.

Against the background of reports that the Scottish FA were lodging a complaint with FIFA, the FAI issued a statement on behalf of itself and the other two participating associations in which they denied media claims that there had been a lack of contact with the Scots or that the FAI were waiting for payments arising out of Euro 2012 qualification before settling the bill.