Long to pay for FAI's error

News: The Football Association of Ireland has been fined and Shane Long suspended for an extra game as a result of an administrative error that led to the Reading striker being named as a substitute for the European Championship qualifier in Slovakia when he was actually suspended for the game.

The 20 year-old didn't come on in the match which Ireland drew 2-2 but that appears to have been more a matter of luck than design with Steve Staunton and the FAI only discovering afterwards he should not have been included in the squad for the game.

Suspended players are prohibited from being on the bench and his presence there might have cost Ireland a points deduction but Uefa has apparently accepted the situation was not made clear to the FAI. At its September 20th meeting the federation's disciplinary committee, of which FAI chief executive John Delaney is a member, settled for the imposition of an undisclosed fine and extension of the player's ban instead.

Long's case is a rather complicated one as the five-match suspension was imposed as a result of his sending off and reaction to it during a competitive under-19 game early last year. He served the first part of the ban within a number of days but the manner in which the rest was to be accounted for was affected by his graduations to the Irish under-21 squad, then to the seniors.

Players suspended at one level cannot play for their country at another level in the 24 hours either side of a competitive game played by the team from which they are suspended. As the striker's ban automatically followed him to under-21 level, this means Long was free to play for the senior international team provided the under-21s did have a competitive game within a day of the game, as they did the night before the match in Slovakia when the under-21s played Portugal in Cork.

The FAI insisted yesterday it had sought clarification with regard to the matter and acted on the basis of the information received.

"When Shane Long was first called into the squad for the Euro 2008 qualifier against San Marino last February," said an FAI spokesman yesterday, "the FAI checked his eligibility with Uefa and was assured he was free to play at senior level as his suspension only applied to underage games.

"Once the association became aware after the game in Slovakia there was a problem with the player's eligibility for certain matches it immediately contacted Uefa for clarification."

A spokesman for Uefa yesterday conceded there had been some confusion but Long will be out for the game against Wales in Cardiff and two future senior games.

Mark Clattenburg will not be refereeing a Premier League match this weekend.

The official was criticised for his handling of the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Neither the league nor his own governing body will confirm it is as a result of his performance in Saturday's game.