A top official at the Irish FA has stated that the organisation is confident the Northern Ireland men's senior football team will be able to play Belarus in Belfast next month, despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the fixture.
Northern Ireland and Belarus are scheduled to clash in the Nations League on November 15 at Windsor Park, but the Belfast tie has been cast into doubt due to the UK government's stance on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under neutral flags in sports.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Belarus has allowed its territory to be used by the Russian military to launch attacks into northern Ukraine. As a result, there is now uncertainty over whether Belarusian players will be granted entry visas to travel to Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.
While UEFA’s restrictions would not impact the game being held in Belfast, an alternative venue in Europe would need to be secured if the UK government does not grant permission for the match to take place.
Chief Executive of the Irish FA, Patrick Nelson (Photo by Matthew Ashton, AMA/Getty Images)Irish FA chief executive Patrick Nelson has assured that the organisation is working hard to ensure the fixture is held in Belfast and is awaiting further correspondence.
"The issuance of visas to the Belarus senior men's football team in time to fulfil our scheduled UEFA Nations League fixture next month has been a well-publicised matter," Nelson said this week on RTE Sport
"We have spent a number of weeks working to find a positive resolution to this. After significant consultation with our government stakeholders, we are now confident that the game can take place at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park on Friday, November 15.
"We anticipate further updates in the coming period."
Nelson’s comments follow Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill's statement, in which he said it would be unfair if his team were not allowed to play the tie in Belfast.
"It'll be unfair on us if we're not allowed [to play at Windsor Park]," O'Neill said after his side’s 5-0 win over Bulgaria in Belfast during the last Nations League window to BBC Sport.
"We'll end up with four away games, two of them at a neutral venue, which is far from ideal."
Northern Ireland will face Belarus on November 15, followed by an away fixture against Bulgaria three days later to conclude their campaign. They currently sit top of their group with seven points.
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