Government sources say it is extremely unlikely it will attempt to stop next month's soccer match between Ireland and Yugoslavia despite its concern that the match is scheduled to go ahead.
The Government yesterday said it was "surprised and disappointed" at the decision of the European football association, UEFA, to allow the match to be played.
The Football Association of Ireland said yesterday it had sent details of the Government's view to UEFA.
EU foreign ministers decided on April 26th to discourage member-states' sporting associations from arranging international sporting events involving Yugoslavia because of the crisis in Kosovo.
The Cabinet resolved yesterday that no Government representative would attend the match, to be played at Lansdowne Road on June 5th.
A spokeswoman for the President, Mrs McAleese, said she would not be attending as she had not planned to go.
The Government said it would monitor the situation between now and June 5th.
Government sources said that while it was open to the Government to refuse visas to visitors, it was extremely unlikely it would do so.
Its main concern was to ensure that Yugoslavia would not use the fixture in any way as a propaganda exercise.
The Government said its view was based on the "illegal and appalling actions of the Yugoslav regime against the people of Kosovo".
The Workers' Party, however, called for the match to go ahead as Ireland was not at war with Yugoslavia.
The party condemned the Government's stance as "a racist anti-Yugoslav, anti-Serb, pro-bombing position".
"It seems very strange that the Government of a neutral state should object loudly to the visit of a Yugoslav team to Dublin when the same Government will tonight roll out the carpet for the US First Lady, Hillary Clinton, who is coming here to lecture us about world peace while her husband bombs Yugoslavia to rubble", said a Workers' Party councillor, Mr Sean O'Cionnaith.