Vol. 506 No. 3
26 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the discussion, if any, he has had with the FAI or UEFA arising from the cancellation of the Ireland v Yugoslavia European championship match, following the decision of the Government to refuse visas to the Yugoslav party; if he will urge UEFA that Ireland should not be penalised in terms of loss of points arising from the cancellation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15471/99]
The responsibility for the organisation and management of matches in the European championship is ultimately a matter for UEFA and the national football federations. The Deputy will be aware that in this competition, a qualifying match between the Republic of Ireland and Yugoslavia was scheduled to take place in Dublin on Saturday, 5 June 1999.
In view of the illegal and appalling actions of the Yugoslav regime against the people of Kosovo, the EU Foreign Ministers at their meeting on 26 April and again on 31 May 1999 encouraged member states and international sporting bodies not to organise sporting events with Yugoslavia. In spite of these resolutions, the briefing which the FAI gave to UEFA at a meeting on 24 May 1999 and my meeting with representatives of UEFA in Germany on 2 June 1999, UEFA refused to alter its decision and confirmed that the match should go ahead on 5 June.
In the light of UEFA's decision, the unacceptable situation in Kosovo and the indictments of the international tribunal against the highest authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Government was convinced that it would not be appropriate for the match to take place in Ireland. Accordingly, the Government decided to refuse visas to the members of the Yugoslav team to enter Ireland for the purpose of playing the match and subsequently communicated this to the Football Association of Ireland.
The following day, at the European Council meeting held in Cologne, the heads of Government reaffirmed the European Union position in connection with sports events with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
My officials have been in contact with the FAI and remain available to meet with it although no formal meeting has been requested by the association. The only contact with UEFA since my meeting with their Secretary General earlier this month in Paderborn was to forward, for his information, a copy of the text of the Government's statement refusing the visas to the Yugoslav party.
Meanwhile, the FAI has stated publicly that it is currently engaging with UEFA in relation to the cancelled fixture and that it has the support of a number of national football federations in its efforts to ensure that no action is taken by UEFA to penalise the FAI for the cancellation of the fixture. UEFA indicated to me in Paderborn that it would not be in a position to make a decision on this matter until it had been considered by the appropriate committee within UEFA having received a report from the FAI.
