Republic deserve ‘moral compensation’, says Blatter

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has ruled out any financial compensation for the Republic of Ireland in the aftermath of their World Cup play-off exit to France, but has again sympathised with Giovanni Trapattoni’s team.

The world governing body today revealed the prize money for next year’s World Cup in South Africa will rise by 61% from the previous edition in Germany, with all the 32 qualifiers also set to pocket $1m (€0.67m) prior to the competition to help aid their preparation.