In a bizarre turn of events today, the Irish squad produced their passports for inspection at the request of a FIFA representative. The players were asked to display their passports personally, for the purposes of photo identification, in the lobby of the The Princess Sofia Hotel in Barcelona by Leon Walker of Switzerland.
The Andorran squad were subjected to a similar procedure earlier this morning after allegations that a number of their players were ineligible to play.
FAI Chief Executive Bernard O'Byrne described the procedure as a "very unusual situation but obviously there are no concerns from our side."
In contrast the allegations were abruptly dismissed by the Andorra Football Federation who along with the national squad were thought to be very agitated with the situation.
However the situation became ever more curious this morning when the player at the the centre of the alleagtions, Marc Bernaus, announced his retirement from International football.
A spokesman for the AFF said players who had previously represented Spain at youth level, including Bernaus, had been cleared to play for the principality's senior side by UEFA.
"We were only formed in 1994 and we only started taking part in competitions in 1998," AFF spokesman Miguel Angel Quinones explained to AFP.
"All the players who had played for Spain in youth football before 1998 have been totally cleared to play for the Andorra team," Quinones then referred to what he described as the 'bad spirit' behind the allegations.
On Monday Republic of Ireland officials said they had passed on to FIFA a tip that members of the Andorra squad were ineligible.
An anonymous fax sent to the FAI said Andorra midfielder Marc Bernaus has already played for Spain at competitive junior level while five other unnamed players do not have Andorran passports.
Andorra are currently bottom of Group Two, having lost all six of their matches so far, conceding 19 goals and scoring only three. AFP