The Republic of Ireland's European championship game against Yugoslavia is still on - but only just - after a skirmish with Yugoslav immigration officials on the way to Belgrade yesterday.
The aircraft carrying the players and some of the advance party of 1,000 Irish supporters for tomorrow's game was in the final stages of its approach to Belgrade when a dispute over visas threatened the fixture.
Ray Treacy, the FAI's official tour operator, was insisting that the visas issued for the original game, postponed from October 10th because of the Kosovo crisis, were still valid.
Stern-faced immigration officials were equally adamant that a new fixture demanded new visas - and a fee of £24 per person.
Tony Cascarino, Ireland's French-based forward who had arrived on a flight from Paris, found himself detained for five hours while calls were made to Yugoslavia's embassy in London.
He was still contemplating the prospect of deportation when the Yugoslav Football Federation (YFF) finally convinced the authorities of his bona fides and those of the Ireland squad which were about to land. But the drama was not over. While willing to admit the official party on temporary visas there could be no admittance, the Yugoslavs insisted, for the supporters or the press corps of 51.
"It was at that point the gloves really came off and we told them that unless everybody was allowed in they could forget about a match on Wednesday," said Mr Treacy.
Eventually, with the co-operation of the YFF, they relented. It was scarcely the best welcome we had ever received in a city which, our courier later reminded us, was founded by the Celts. "Some bleedin' Celts," complained one wag. "These Yugoslavs have long bleedin' memories - it's revenge for John Charles McQuaid in 1955". That was the game which the then Archbishop of Dublin tried to abort as a protest against the Tito regime. Forty three years later, a bunch of obdurate Yugoslav officials almost succeeded where he had failed.