World Cup fever 'to bring Ireland to a standstill'

World Cup fever was bringing most of Ireland to a standstill today for the second time in less than a week in the run up to the crucial tie with Saudi Arabia later today.

Victory by two goals or more will send the team through to the next round of the tournament’s final stages, and hundreds of thousands of home-based fans will throng TV venues nationwide to cheer on their favourites.

Most shops and offices will again bow to the inevitable and put up the shutters for an extended two-hour long lunchbreak until the game is over.

Others have laid on huge TV screens in workplaces to ensure employees do not miss out on potentially one of the biggest sporting occasions in Irish history.

Bosses’ groups have issued pleas to those workers who choose to watch the match in pubs or at home to remember to be back on duty afterwards.

But the suspicion remains that a win for Ireland might just prompt many supporters to stay out and celebrate - all day and all night, if necessary.

One firm planning to provide TV facilities on the shopfloor was the Intel computer chipmaker, which has hired seating and screens for 2,200 staff at five locations in their headquarters at Leixlip, near Dublin - with extra food laid on for the occasion.

The Gleneagles Hotel in Killarney, Co Kerry, has claimed to have the biggest screen in Ireland - at 60 square metres, showing to an audience of 2,500, complete with a half-time question-and-answer session involving former Irish international John Aldridge.

And the prestigious headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society will be the centre for 1,000 supporters to see the game after a champagne reception and a full Irish breakfast, with pre-match jazz entertainment.

Ireland’s best-known soccer fan, Bertie Ahern relayed his good luck to the Japan-based squad, coupled with a warning not to regard the Saudis - who have already been eliminated from the Cup as a pushover.

He said: ‘‘We have to treat the Saudis with huge, huge respect. It’s going to be a tough game, but the fact that both matches in our group are on at the same time at least puts us in a position where we know what we are up against.

‘‘So we need a win - and let’s hope for it.’’

The Football Association of Ireland has confirmed that some Irish flags are being officially banned from the big match by the FIFA authorities in Japan.

The green, white and orange tricolours under threat are those bearing the names of pubs back in Ireland. The banners in question and the identities of the bars have been seen on TV worldwide at both Irish games.

And, according to FIFA, that flies in the face of advertising regulations.

FAI security officer Joe McGlew said: ‘‘I don’t know why FIFA did not tell us about this months ago so we could have informed the fans.

‘‘They intend to either take the flags away or cover the names of the bars on the flags because they think it is a form of cheap advertising.

‘‘It’s going to affect probably 85% of our flags in the ground. But I don’t really think it is a form of advertising.’’

:: Ireland’s most controversial soccer analyst, former international Eamon Dunphy, will not be among the panel of experts covering the match on TV, the RTE national broadcaster has said.

Dunphy met RTE bosses after being suspended by the station on Sunday for ‘‘being unable to fulfil the terms of his contract’’.

After talking to Dunphy, RTE said the suspension stayed in place, but were unable to indicate whether he would be recalled before the end of the World Cup.