ROME IS no longer favourite to stage the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Italy on April 1st. Although no decision has been made, media speculation yesterday suggests the Olympic Stadium in Rome may not be the venue. writes Paddy Agnew

Two months ago, Rome had looked like the number one choice for the Irish game. But yesterday the Gazzetta dello Sport suggested that, following a visit to Rome by Uefa president Michel Platini, the Italian capital will no longer be the venue.

Platini attended the recent AS Roma v Chelsea Champions League game to check out the stadium with a view to the 2009 Champions League final which is due to be staged there in May.

Although he gave the Olimpico a resounding vote of confidence as the venue for the Champions League final, Platini, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, was concerned about the possibility of "incidents" during the Ireland game little more than one month before the final.

Contacted by The Irish Times yesterday, a spokesman for the Italian Football Federation, Antonello Valentini, denied the Platini-Champions League speculation: "No decision about the Italy v Ireland game has yet been taken. The venue will be decided probably late next month, not before.

"At the moment, there are four candidates - Florence, Genoa, Milan and Rome - and they all still stand. Platini and the Champions League final have nothing to do with the Ireland game."

Under Fifa regulations, national associations are required to name the venue for a World Cup qualifier 90 days before the game. In real terms, the federation has until the end of December to decide on the Ireland game. Even if World Cup qualifiers and Champions League games are different considerations, one suspects that the Olympic Stadium was probably not much helped by Uefa's decision, announced yesterday, to open a case against AS Roma over "the setting off of fireworks and obstruction by spectators of the exits in one section" during the Chelsea game. The case is due to be heard by Uefa's control and disciplinary body on December 11th.

Earlier this month, Eugenio Giani, the sports officer for Florence Town Council, told reporters he was hopeful the Ireland game would be played at the Franchi Stadium. Giani said that, after speaking to both the federation president, Giancarlo Abete, and to Italy coach Marcello Lippi, there was "a concrete possibility" the game would be played in Florence.

Traditionally, the Italian team do not have a national stadium where they play all internationals, but rather go out "on tour". Where there is a guaranteed strong away following, as seems sure in the case of Ireland, the federation opts for one of the bigger stadiums. In that context, the Olympic Stadium's capacity is around 80,000, while the "Franchi" in Florence holds 47,000, the "Ferraris" in Genoa 37,000 and the "Meazza" at San Siro, Milan, 80,000.

Given it is estimated that up to 15,000 Irish fans may travel for next April's qualifier, the Italian federation will choose one of the biggest stadiums available. For example, the recently-built Olympic Stadium in Turin has already been ruled out because it holds only 25,000.

Until a decision on a venue has been made, the federation cannot confirm how many tickets will be available to Irish fans. Valentini, however, does not predict problems on that front, saying that the Italian federation will do all they can to meet the FAI's ticket requirements.