A statement on the feasibility of completing Group Eight of the European Championship on schedule is expected to be issued by UEFA within the next 48 hours.

The findings of a task force appointed to examine the sporting implications of the Kosovo crisis will be with UEFA today and will then be conveyed to the national federations of the countries involved - Yugoslavia, Croatia, Macedonia, Malta and the Republic of Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Yugoslav Federation is understood to be proceeding with plans for their meeting with Ireland at Lansdowne Road on June 5th, on the premise that the fixture will go ahead as scheduled.

Provisional flights have been booked and hotel accommodation in Dublin checked out in the last week, as the Yugoslavs prepare for a game which they view as one of the most difficult in their programme.

In a significant development, the Yugoslavs are believed to be ready to switch their home game against Malta, scheduled for Belgrade on June 9th, to a venue in Greece.

With their home fixtures against Croatia and Macedonia still in abeyance, that would create an interesting precedent. The FAI has intimated that if those games are played in a neutral country, they will seek to have last November's game in Belgrade replayed in a similar setting.

They argue that if Croatia and Macedonia are not required to play in Belgrade, it would give them an unfair advantage.