Yugoslav officials said yesterday that they would have no difficulty in playing their postponed European Championship game against the Republic of Ireland at a later date, if required to do so by UEFA.

Speaking in Thessalonika where the team is preparing for next Wednesday's meeting with Malta, Branko Bulatovic, general secretary of the Yugoslav Federation, said they had no wish to be awarded the points by default.

"Its a problem for UEFA in the first instance, but if they say the game should be played we will, of course, travel to Dublin or anywhere else.

"All problems can be solved with goodwill. The Irish Government did not have goodwill when they refused us visas for our game on Saturday, but that will not affect our attitude for the next game."

Bulatovic said that the Yugoslav players were "surprised and very disappointed" when they returned from training on Wednesday to be told that the game against Ireland was off.

"I think we were sad as well, for we regard the Irish as people with dignity," he said. "I was very surprised to read in our papers that the Irish coach said his team could not play the game because it would be morally wrong.

"Does he think we have war machines in our team? He must be aware that we have some of the best players in Europe in our side, players who have earned the respect of football lovers everywhere.

"You must know that for 20 years, there were problems in Northern Ireland. But their football team was never refused visas. And we were only too happy to forget politics and play them."

Bulotovic's sentiments on another fixture were echoed by the team captain Dragan Stojkovic: "We don't wish to have the points put on the table for us - we prefer to play for them," he said. "Football is football, politics is politics, but I think all footballers want to play.

"We understand that a game in Dublin would be very difficult for us. But games should be won on the pitch and our team is prepared to play if UEFA will allow us."

Nobody at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland yesterday could offer any guidance on Ireland's probable fate in the wake of the Government's decision to withhold visas from the Yugoslav party.

The next meeting of the executive committee in Geneva is not due for another four weeks, but it is likely that the legal implications of Wednesday's unprecedented action will be discussed by UEFA lawyers in advance of that session.

A statement issued yesterday read: "Considering the circumstances of the cancellation of Yugoslavia's two games in Ireland and in view of other fixtures involving Yugoslav teams in international competition, UEFA has asked the EU presidency for clarification of the official position of the EU and, more precisely, whether the decision of the Government of Ireland is applicable throughout the EU area. The competent UEFA bodies will take decisions at a later stage, concerning the matches which could not take place in the Republic of Ireland this week."

Meanwhile, the local debate on the sanctions which could be handed down for a violation of one of the basic rules of the competition, showed no signs of winding down yesterday. Expulsion from the championship is highly unlikely and the possibility of Yugoslavia being awarded the points would seem to be almost as remote.

There is, however, every chance that the FAI will be fined heavily, a penalty which, one suspects, would not be wholly unacceptable if they are allowed to keep the rearranged game in Dublin. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the FAI's chief executive, Bernard O'Byrne, surfed the range of sanctions but ended up with the statement that anything other than a new date for the fixture would be unfair.

"UEFA are very angry over what has happened but that shouldn't be directed at us," he said. "But that anger has been caused by a decision that wasn't made by us and as such, any punitive action against us would be unreasonable."

O'Byrne acknowledged, however, that even if the fixture is rescheduled for Dublin, it might still cause problems. For one thing, Lansdowne Road will not be available for the duration of the World Cup rugby finals in October and there is also the matter of finding suitable dates.

Ireland could play on August 18th, a date provisionally pencilled in for a friendly game in Poland, but Yugoslavia are already committed to playing Croatia on that date. After that, the Yugoslavs have fixtures against Macedonia (home) on September 4th, Macedonia (away) on September 8th, and Croatia (away) on October 10th.

Tieing a new date to the release of players could also be difficult, a point O'Byrne was quick to make: "Getting the release of all our players may be difficult and we may have to be very persuasive with the various clubs. But if we encounter opposition along the way, all we can do is play the hand that is dealt to us."

The FAI confirmed yesterday that tickets issued for the aborted fixture will be valid for a re-arranged game if it takes place. People wishing to secure refunds can do so through the FAI or from the outlets at which they bought tickets. Meanwhile, Mick McCarthy alleviated doubts about Jason McAteer's recovery from a calf muscle injury. He said the Blackburn player was making good progress and he expected him to be available for next Wednesday's meeting with Macedonia at Lansdowne Road.