Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has blasted FIFA's decision to seed the World Cup play-offs, describing it as "killing football", while goalkeeper Shay Given has called the move "disgusting". On Saturday night Italy will face the Republic of Ireland in Dublin for a decisive World Cup qualifying match. The Azzurri could seal qualification with a draw, while for Ireland the most likely outcome is a second-place finish in the group. This would force them to enter the play-offs, which could turn out to be dangerous for Trapattoni's team, as FIFA president Joseph Blatter has recently announced that the play-offs will be seeded according to the various teams' current FIFA rankings. "This solution is a bit like killing football. A few years ago the big European clubs thought about creating a 'SuperLeague', but they abandoned the idea because they saw the risks of this. This is a similar solution. "Every national team has the same rights, and making a seeded draw goes against this principle. But of course, the business of the big teams controls everything." Given said, "It's incredible that FIFA has taken a decision like this precisely when the bigger teams are struggling to qualify. It's actually disgusting."

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has blasted FIFA's decision to seed the World Cup play-offs, describing it as "killing football", while goalkeeper Shay Given has called the move "disgusting".

FIFA World Cup play-offs will kill world football: Irish coach Giovanni

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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article / FIFA World Cup play-offs will kill world football: Irish coach Giovanni

FIFA World Cup play-offs will kill world football: Irish coach Giovanni

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