The cat escapes the sack

In a jailbreak to rival the acquisition of those three World Cup points in Kazakhstan, Giovanni Trapattoni was last night reaffirmed as manager of the Republic of Ireland by the FAI, ending days of feverish speculation about his position.

The 73-year-old, who is at his home in Milan, was notified of the outcome of the board meeting soon after it ended last night.

In the wake of the 6-1 mauling by Germany in Dublin on Friday, reports citing authoritative sources in the association had strongly indicated that, regardless of the result of Tuesday night’s game against the Faroe Islands, the veteran Italian would be given his marching orders by the end of this week.