Ireland decide not to travel

The Republic of Ireland have defended their decision not to train in the Kashima Stadium in Ibaraki ahead of Wednesday's Group E clash with Germany.

Mick McCarthy decided against taking his players from their base in Chiba on a 75-minute coach journey, have them train in the stadium, and then travel straight back again.

FAI general secretary Brendan Menton said they had not broken any Fifa regulations by opting against going to the match venue.

"There is no FIFA obligation to visit the stadium on the day before the game," said Menton. "In fact, you have to request permission before you are allowed on the pitch and it could be refused.

"If the rain came down you could be denied access so it is at their discretion and we don't have to go.

"If we were to travel to Ibaraki we had planned for an hour-and-a-quarter each way. We did the run when we were out here in February because it was one of the things we took into consideration when we were deciding whether we would base ourselves in Chiba, centrally between the two locations, or would we go to Ibaraki and then go to Yokohama.

"We actually timed the runs then and on that basis Mick just decided now rather than spending a minimum of two to two-and-a-half hours in a coach on the day before a game he would not travel.

"The decision could be interpreted as a tribute to the facilities here in Chiba as well, and Mick said there is no real advantage in going on the stadium pitch.

"They are all the same, the grass is the same and the pitches are all the same size."