Hopes that Scotland would play the Republic of Ireland for the first time since the European Championship meeting of the countries at Hampden Park 10 years ago were lost in an exchange of calls between Dublin and Glasgow yesterday.

After last week's preliminary inquiry, Jim Farry, the Scottish FA secretary, confirmed that the Scots still have one vacant date in their build-up programme to the World Cup in France next summer.

The bad news for his Ireland counterpart, Bernard O'Byrne, is that they intend to allocate it to non-European opposition, probably South American, as they make ready for the great French expedition.

It catches the mood of a difficult period for the FAI who, in the wake of World Cup elimination, are encountering problems in putting in place their New Year programme.

Offers for fixtures with Argentina, Colombia and Mexico are still on the table, but will only be filled, apparently, if the FAI fail to secure attractive European opposition.

Many of the World Cup finalists are not completing their fixture schedule until after the draw for the finals takes place in Marseilles a week on Thursday. With this in mind, Bernard O'Byrne may travel to France in the hope of expediting Ireland's match plans.

One fixture which manager Mick McCarthy is planning for the spring is more likely to be finalised in Dublin rather than Europe. McCarthy is hoping to arrange a B fixture early in the New Year in the hope of looking at some of the younger players on the fringe of his first-team squad.

Last season, the National League provided the opposition for his B team and in the event of Northern Ireland failing to put a team in the field at Tolka Park, the manager may revert to the best of the domestic talent to test his emerging stars.

David Connolly must wait at least another month before knowing the price he must pay for his astonishing lapse of discipline in the World Cup play-off against Belgium in Brussels.

No date has yet been set for the next meeting of FIFA's Disciplinary Committee, but a spokesman said that Connolly's case is unlikely to be heard before Christmas. Until then, speculation on the probability of him becoming the second Ireland player this year to be hit with a three-match ban will continue.

Ultimately, that may depend on whether he is cited for violent conduct after first pushing Gert Verheyen to the ground and then appearing to catch him with his boot as he walked past the Belgian.

A FIFA spokesman confirmed yesterday that the report of Austrian referee Gunter Benko had been received, but declined to comment on either its content or the likely outcome, pending the hearing of the case by the Disciplinary Committee.

A charge of violent conduct was levelled against Jason McAteer after he had kicked a Macedonian opponent in Skopje last April and it earned him a three-match suspension at a vital stage of Ireland's World Cup programme.

Connolly's ban will also be enforced exclusively in competitive games, the difference being that in this instance it will be transferred by FIFA to UEFA's jurisdiction to take effect in the qualifying stages of the next European Championship.

Quite apart from the sentence likely to be handed down from FIFA, the player may face a reprimand from McCarthy for his remarkable outburst within minutes of replacing Mark Kennedy.

McCarthy was furious with Connolly for handing the initiative back to the Belgians at a stage when he felt that the tie could be saved, but whether that frustration stretches to punitive measures is doubtful.

Despite the disquiet felt by some at the apparent erosion of discipline in the Ireland squad - manifested in a record number of bookings in the World Cup qualifying games - it is highly unlikely that he will choose to compound Connolly's problems by imposing additional sanctions.

From a purely selfish viewpoint, he is not yet in a position where he can lightly dispense with the skills of the Feyenoord player. In spite of his persistent efforts to widen the options available to him, instanced by his decision to recruit Jon Goodman and Michael Evans to Ireland's cause, he still trades under the handicap of a shortage of top class strikers.

With the return of Keith O'Neill, he would feel better prepared in this area heading into his third year in charge, but as of now there is still no evidence that the Norwich player has distanced himself from the fitness problems which beset him for most of the year.

While the consequences of Connolly's intemperance will be referred by FIFA to the European body, the likelihood is that yellow card offences committed during Ireland's 12-game programme will be expunged.

That would be greeted with relief by Ian Harte among others, for the young Leeds United player is due to serve an automatic one-match suspension after being booked for a second time in the Brussels game.