Georgia game at risk?

[BradyIsMyHero]

Fifa says its up to Georgia to make the re-arrangements. Likely to be someplace v difficult to get to

Pain in the butt!

[Sligo Hornet]

Fifa says its up to Georgia to make the re-arrangements. Likely to be someplace v difficult to get to

Pain in the butt!

Moscow?;)

[BradyIsMyHero]

Giants Stadium wouldn't be bad. We have a good record there

[AidoM]

Fifa says its up to Georgia to make the re-arrangements. Likely to be someplace v difficult to get to

Pain in the butt!

Could be Turkey or Greece. As we're going through Prague it might be gettable to from there.

[AidoM]

From FAI website

Georgia v Republic of Ireland - Notice to Fans

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tuesday, 19 August 2008 Section: International

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIFA today confirmed that it has asked the Georgian FA to nominate a neutral venue for the Group 8 World Cup qualifier match against the Republic of Ireland on September 6. The Football Association of Ireland will keep Irish fans updated in relation to the new venue on www.fai.ie. FIFA has indicated to the FAI that it expects to confirm the new venue next week.

[paulie_walnuts]

I'll guess Cyprus.

[pineapple stu]

Montenegro. :)

[Sligo Hornet]

What about Georgia USA..........makes some kind of warped sense!:p

[Supreme feet]

Azerbaijan is a possibility, as their national team are playing away that weekend. Or somewhere in Eastern Turkey, or Cyprus.

As a matter of interest, does anyone know how many Western-based players are in Georgia's squad? I could wiki it, but I'm far too lazy.

[The Bit O'Red]

Fifa says its up to Georgia to make the re-arrangements. Likely to be someplace v difficult to get to

Pain in the butt!

Have you got a link where it says that it's up to Georgia where the game will be replayed? I would have thought that FIFA would have some sort of input into it.

[pineapple stu]

It's on the FIFA press release. It's linked in on the main game thread.

[The Bit O'Red]

Got it, thanks Stu......

"The Georgian Football Federation has until August 26 2008 to nominate a neutral venue to host the qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, which will take place on the scheduled date of September 6 2008. The Georgian Football Federation will serve as the host association for this match."

[Newryrep]

worst scenario - extra cost of flights to Gods knows where and lose money on Riga-Tbilisi

Best scenario - there is none, cant change routes for E50, unlikely to get money back because it is an act of war/only got insurance recently as I went for multitrip starting 22-08-08

More money either way.

[gspain]

Disaster.

Looks like we'll lose our flights and pay through the nose to get to the game now.

I appreciate this is minor compared to people who have lost their lives in Georgia recently but still bad news for us.

[Duggie]

bad news for supporters but good for our chances of winning the game.

[The Bit O'Red]

I'll guess Cyprus.

Nah, it won't be Cyprus, they're playing at home themselves that day.

The turks are away though.

[paul_oshea]

lads that has to help us, i assume the atmosphere will be terrible but it has to give us a chance, georgia away was a potential banana skin, this serves us greatly, if no home fans are there plus the other big hitters will still have to go there as i assume come october things will be alright again!

[Newryrep]

lads that has to help us, i assume the atmosphere will be terrible but it has to give us a chance, georgia away was a potential banana skin, this serves us greatly, if no home fans are there plus the other big hitters will still have to go there as i assume come october things will be alright again!

maybe football wise (but i wouldnt bet on it) but a fair few will be out of pocket.

You nearly wish now that things would get worse so they cancel flights and you get your money back .:(



. I think if we play at a neutral venue all the teams will insist on it.

[Duggie]

maybe football wise (but i wouldnt bet on it) but a fair few will be out of pocket.

You nearly wish now that things would get worse so they cancel flights and you get your money back .:(



. I think if we play at a neutral venue all the teams will insist on it.

no they wont - unless there's still conflict. this is great news for us football wise. georgia would have been tough at home so im delighted and id suspect so is trap and co.

[NeilMcD]

Awful for Fans who booked Flights and accomodation but wonderful News for Trap and Team, Tbilisi could have been a real Banana Skin, now a neutral venue will most definitely give us an advantage!:)

Accomodation is not really worry as that can be cancelled in 99% of cases.

[NeilMcD]

Just on to VHI and they said that as long as the DFA has the warning of not to travel you will get your money back. So I am printing that out now and sending in my refund form now.

Neil

[DeNiro]

Does travel insurance not cover this sort of event? Surely, it must cover the travel not happening due to extenuating circumstances.

[gspain]

My understanding (unless the rules have changed recently) is that Georgia will now have to play all home game sin the same neutral country to avoid giving us an advantage.

It does help the team

[elroy]

This could go either way:
1: Neutral venue suits us better cos obviously not playing Georgia at home or
2: As a result of the recent conflict the team plays out of their skin for their country and give us a much tougher game than if this situation wasnt ongoing.

Dont really know the make up of the georgian team but on balance i think the neutral venue, wherever it is has to be to our benefit. Much better than the game being postponed anyways

[NeilMcD]

All I am looking for is that it is played at a venue which is as handy to get to from Riga as Tiblisi is. Riga would be perfect ha ha!!!

[Sligo Hornet]

I am still struggling to get a refund on my flights....despite the Government warning not to travel, Lufthansa say they will not refund as they are still flying into Tbilisi!!!:eek:.....fecking germans!

[NeilMcD]

Get your refund on the travel insurance I did not even contact the airline yet.

[pineapple stu]

My understanding (unless the rules have changed recently) is that Georgia will now have to play all home game sin the same neutral country to avoid giving us an advantage.

It does help the team
Georgia played Russia behind closed doors in 2004, but we played in Tbilisi. Slightly different situation, but similar at least.

[Closed Account 2]

FYI - I think Turkey are playing Armenia in Yerevan on the same day. This is a dangerous match, it's likely a sizable number of Turks will travel to the game. Turkey's border with Armenia is closed, as it the Azeri / Armenian border. The only non-air way of getting into Armenia is via Iran to the south or Georgia to the north. I'd imagine the Turkish fans will be going via Georgia if they travel to Yerevan as it's shorter and they don't have to go through the same level of visa regulations as with Iran. It could well be in Baku as that is easy to get to from Tbilisi.

[NeilMcD]

Good info there so that does reduce the options

[Ireland4ever]

Hector Cuper is in charge of Georgia - Did anyone know that? First i heard of it was today.

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_4011950,00.html

[pineapple stu]

It's a question in the programme quiz for UCD-Derry on Friday!

[mypost]

no they wont - unless there's still conflict. this is great news for us football wise. georgia would have been tough at home so im delighted and id suspect so is trap and co.

I don't think it's great, nor do I think anyone will be delighted. It's still going to be a tough trip on the pitch either way.

[paulie_walnuts]

Nah, it won't be Cyprus, they're playing at home themselves that day.

The turks are away though.


Ah didn't realise. Shame, fancied a break in the sun! :D

Who do the Georgians have good relations with? Or what country would there be a lot of Georgian ex-pats?

[DotTV]

Georgian clubs in the UEFA have to play at a neutral venue too so could be a clue to where the national team will go.
Turkey is the most likely though.

[paulie_walnuts]

I agree, Turkey are away on the day we play as well, and the Georgians also seem to have good relations with the Turks.

Makes the game a little bit more winnable imo.

[NeilMcD]

Istanbul would be great, always wanted to visit there.

[gspain]

Istanbul would be great, always wanted to visit there.


I reckon it will be Trabzon as it is much closer to Georgia. Any Bray fans go there in 1990?

[NeilMcD]

Yeah you are probably right. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabzon

[Newryrep]

There is no doubt about our FA's optimism - just a day after the ceasefire, they started to sell 'season tickets' for all 5 home qualifiers. Frankly, I doubt that the sales have been good so far.

George any feedback on when a decision will be made (i know they have till tuesday but they must have thought about the possibility) and where is it likely to be

[George2605]

Turkey is always the first choice for Georgians in such situations, and should the game be played in Trabzon, then we'd manage to have something close to a home game after all, as it's close to the border and there are half a million people with Georgian roots living in that region.

Baku might be another option, and the Azeris would also give us good support.

Other friendly countries that would host our games are Ukraine, Poland and any of the Baltic states...but with the possible exception of Kiev, we wouldn't have much active support from the stands, so these options should only be considered if the other 2 are unavailable.

In any case, I would imagine that a decision will be made soon: Rize in Turkey agreed to host WIT Georgia FC's UEFA Cup game just a day after it was moved from Tbilisi.

By the way, apologies for my misplaced optimism earlier on, but we were really hoping that they'd wait for just a little bit longer for positive developments on the ground...I suppose, FAI were putting them under a bit of pressure fore a quick decision, and that's fair enough, you need to plan ahead and think of the travelling fans.

Well, wherever the game will take place, I hope most of you can make it there without being hit too hard in the pocket.

[NeilMcD]

Cheers George thanks for the info and best of luck in the rest of the group

[Newryrep]

Turkey ........... I hope most of you can make it there without being hit too hard in the pocket.

cheers George for the info, i said before I thought the FAI were hasty asking for a neutral venue with the game nearly 3 weeks away but its done now. If its not a taxi ride from Riga i will probably struggle to make it.

[NeilMcD]

Do you not think you will get your money back from your insurance company then Newryrep.

[Newryrep]

Do you not think you will get your money back from your insurance company then Newryrep.

Neil, i left the insurance too late as i was going for yearly multitrip starting 22-08-08 and was trying to cover as many bases as possible so only got round to getting it last week.

They have various clauses, one of which is along the lines of prior knowledge.The british foreign office advice was same as DFA at the time so they will probably argue you only took the insurance as it was likely to move/be cancelled. Might try Air Baltic and argue the DFA route. I think some of the national airlines Lufthansa eventually gave in even though they are still flying but not sure about the budget carrier. even if they gave me a credit it s better than E40.

Might be able to argue the 'force majeure' -

From AB website FORCE MAJEURE” means unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond your control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.

[Green Tribe]

didi madloba George! :D
Gutted we can't get to Georgia, I hope things settle down over there for the people. Would love to go there one day.
I am hopeful for Baku (just because Air Baltic fly there) Can't see myself going to Trabzon.

[Sligo Hornet]

Neil, i left the insurance too late as i was going for yearly multitrip starting 22-08-08 and was trying to cover as many bases as possible so only got round to getting it last week.

They have various clauses, one of which is along the lines of prior knowledge.The british foreign office advice was same as DFA at the time so they will probably argue you only took the insurance as it was likely to move/be cancelled. Might try Air Baltic and argue the DFA route. I think some of the national airlines Lufthansa eventually gave in even though they are still flying but not sure about the budget carrier. even if they gave me a credit it s better than E40.

Might be able to argue the 'force majeure' -

From AB website FORCE MAJEURE” means unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond your control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.


Newry.....I went straight for the airline (even though I have insurance) and although it took the best part of 2 hours, they saw the sense in my arguments in the end....we got a full refund :)( Lufthansa- they argued that they are still flying to Tbilisi, but I pointed out that most countries,including Germany, were advising people NOT to travel to Georgia)........just be persistant and keep going higher up the chain.

[Green Tribe]

Sligo Hornet are you going to rebook for the neutral venue or just take a refund?

[Newryrep]

Newry.....I went straight for the airline (even though I have insurance) and although it took the best part of 2 hours, they saw the sense in my arguments in the end....we got a full refund :)( Lufthansa- they argued that they are still flying to Tbilisi, but I pointed out that most countries,including Germany, were advising people NOT to travel to Georgia)........just be persistant and keep going higher up the chain.

Cheers Sligo, will drop them a line tomorrow when I can take some time to compose it right.

[Sligo Hornet]

Sligo Hornet are you going to rebook for the neutral venue or just take a refund?

Taken the refund, and will re-book (God willing ) if its somewhere accessible and I can back from by Sunday, in order to pick up the Monty departure Monday morning