Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has blasted FIFA's decision to seed the World Cup play-offs, describing it as "killing football", while goalkeeper Shay Given has called the move "disgusting".
Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has blasted FIFA's decision to seed the World Cup play-offs, describing it as "killing football", while goalkeeper Shay Given has called the move "disgusting".
On Saturday night Italy will face the Republic of Ireland in Dublin for a decisive World Cup qualifying match.
The Azzurri could seal qualification with a draw, while for Ireland the most likely outcome is a second-place finish in the group.
This would force them to enter the play-offs, which could turn out to be dangerous for Trapattoni's team, as FIFA president Joseph Blatter has recently announced that the play-offs will be seeded according to the various teams' current FIFA rankings.
"This solution is a bit like killing football. A few years ago the big European clubs thought about creating a 'SuperLeague', but they abandoned the idea because they saw the risks of this. This is a similar solution.
"Every national team has the same rights, and making a seeded draw goes against this principle. But of course, the business of the big teams controls everything."
Given said, "It's incredible that FIFA has taken a decision like this precisely when the bigger teams are struggling to qualify. It's actually disgusting."
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