Charlton to be brought in from the cold

JACK CHARLTON'S metamorphosis from English FA outcast to pillar of the footballing establishment will be formally recognised when he appears as guest of honour at Wembley for England's friendly with Croatia at the end of the month.

Charlton, it will be remembered, was not even granted an official response when he applied for the English managerial position in the early 1980s, despite being a World Cup winner with his native country back in 1966.

That he will be introduced to the players of both teams at Wembley on the night his former Republic of Ireland charges are in Prague is as much recognition for his achievements as Irish manager in the last decade as for anything else.

Meanwhile, the FAI have confirmed that FIFA have effectively absolved themselves of any disciplinary measures against Roy Keane following the player's sending off against Russia bypassing the matter over to Merrion Square.

This contravenes the world governing body's constitution, quoted to this journalist by a spokesperson in FIFA's press office last month. This states that Keane would incur an automatic one game ban and might be subject to a lengthier suspension pending the referee's report.

Fortunately for the player and manager Mick McCarthy, it is now the FAI's responsibility to decide what disciplinary measures should be handed out to the player. The matter is on the agenda for the FAI executive committee meeting this evening, So it's conceivable that Keane could be included in the squad for the friendly against the Czech Republic.

That squad will be announced in Dublin today by McCarthy, and is expected to include a new face or two, amongst them the highly regarded Norwich front runner Keith O'Neill, who played for the Republic of Ireland under21s last month.

. Welsh international striker Dean Saunders scored a fifth minute penalty to give Galatasaray, coached by Graeme Souness, a 1-0 win in their home leg of the Turkish Cup final against Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce last night. The return match takes place in two weeks' time.