Republic of Ireland supporters intending to travel to Brussels for the second leg of the World Cup play-offs against Belgium on November 15th were yesterday warned not to secure tickets for the match through Belgian sources. However, the Belgian FA has doubled the number of tickets on offer to Irish fans through the FAI.
The warning follows the violence in the Olympic stadium in Rome last Saturday when English supporters, who had bought tickets from sources other than the official ones, ended up in a section of the ground reserved for Italian fans with serious consequences.
Belgian FA Officials said that Irish fans turning up for the game with tickets purchased in Belgium will be refused entry at the turnstiles. The move has been endorsed by the FAI.
Among supporters, there also seems to be significant support for the move, although just how successfully it will be implemented on the night remains to be seen.
Earlier, the Belgians announced that Ireland's allocation of tickets for the game in Brussels has been doubled to almost 7,000. It follows their decision to locate the visiting fans in a larger area of the stadium, a proposal recommended by the local police authorities.
"We welcome this development and while it will still not be enough to meet the anticipated demand, it does at least alleviate the problem," said an FAI spokesperson. Tickets for the Brussels match are only available to Irish supporters through the FAI and applications must be submitted before close of business next Tuesday.
Demand for tickets for the opening instalment of the play-off at Lansdowne on October 29th grows more intense by the day, but the FAI repeated yesterday that, regrettably, no tickets will be on sale to the general public.
There is a slight hope, however, that the Belgian FA will not take up their full allocation and that some of the 3,500 tickets reserved for visiting fans will be returned.
This will improve the situation, but not nearly enough to satisfy demands for this, quite the most important home game to be played by Ireland since the concluding qualifying fixtures for the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.
Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, yesterday ruled out hopes of Roy Keane being available to Ireland for next summer's World Cup finals, should they qualify. Speaking in Derry, Ferguson said that Keane could be back in training by April, but he did not anticipate that the Irishman would play again before the start of next season. "I think that I wouldn't like to build anyone's hopes up. You're looking more to the start of next season, rather than the start of the tournament in June," Ferguson said.
"I think we could have him back training in April. Thereafter, we have to really monitor the type of injury Roy has because it is such a bad injury. He will be back - there's no doubt about that - but I'm looking more to the start of next year." Meanwhile, Andy Townsend is expected to be recalled when Mick McCarthy announces his squad this morning for the opening instalment of the Belgian tie. Townsend, absent through injury for last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Romania, did not betray any ill effects from his recently-damaged knee when helping Middlesbrough to a 2-0 win over Sunderland in their League Cup meeting on Wednesday.
Townsend was in contact with McCarthy yesterday to reassure him about his availability for the game, welcome news for the Irish manager when measured against the substantial loss of Keane, his other established player in central midfield.
Denis Irwin and Steve Staunton, both excluded from the Romanian game as a precautionary measure, will be among the 22 players named this morning, but at this point, it is still not clear if there will be a place in the squad for Norwich's Keith O'Neill.
