Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni will give Saturday’s World Cup draw a miss, according to reports.
An earlier than usual draw will take place for the qualification stages for the 2014 finals in Brazil this weekend, with Trapattoni reportedly opting not to travel as FAI chief-executive John Delaney and President Paddy McCaul make the trip to Rio in his absence.
The Italian’s current deal runs out at the end of the Euro 2012 campaign, with the veteran boss willing to carry on for another campaign but acknowledging that the FAI are unlikely to offer him a new deal until the end of the qualification campaign for Poland and Ukraine.
The Irish Star quotes an FAI source as saying: “Giovanni will not be attending the World Cup draw, but the association will be represented.”
Ireland are currently among the third set of European seeds for Saturday’s draw, though the final seedings will not be confirmed until Friday.