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Rescheduled Ireland-Yugoslavia game tentatively set for Sept. 1
Posted: Friday July 02, 1999 02:47 PM
GENEVA (AP) -- The Euro 2000 qualifying match between Ireland and Yugoslavia postponed in June has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 1, UEFA announced Friday. The match, originally set for June 5, had to be postponed after Ireland refused to admit the Yugoslavian national team into the country. The Irish government refused to grant visas in protest of Yugoslavia's atrocities against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. UEFA fined the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) 50,000 Swiss francs (US$32,200) for the action. UEFA Secretary-General Gerhard Aigner said Friday the money would be distributed among four Irish charities -- including the Irish Red Cross -- involved in helping the Yugoslovian province of Kosovo recover from the NATO bombing campaign. Ireland, which is not a NATO member, had repeatedly urged UEFA to cancel the game. UEFA stopped short of imposing on the FAI other sanctions available to it under its regulations, which included disqualification of Ireland from the competition or deduction of points because the match was called off 48 hours before kickoff. The tentatively rescheduled match will be played in Dublin as originally planned.
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