Kerr's got Georgia on his mind

Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr has slammed the decision to make Georgia play a match behind closed doors following the knife-throwing incident when the two teams met in Tbilisi last month.

Georgia will have to play their Euro 2004 qualifier against Russia on April 30 in an empty stadium after Sunderland midfielder Kevin Kilbane was hit by a pen-knife thrown from the crowd.

The knife was just one of a number of missiles thrown from the crowd on a hostile night in the Georgian capital.

The Irish went on to win the game, Kerr’s first competitive match in charge since taking over from Mick McCarthy, with goals from Damien Duff and Gary Doherty.

The ban follows a precedent set by UEFA during the qualifying campaign for next year’s European Championship as they continue to show their determination to “get tough” on crowd trouble.

But Kerr is unhappy because the decision may not do Irish ambitions any favours.

“The decision saddens me greatly,” Kerr told the Football Association of Ireland website, www.fai.ie.

“Ourselves and Switzerland have had to go there and play in front of a partisan and volatile crowd and this decision gives Russia an unfair advantage.”