The Scottish FA has "not ruled out further links with Qatar" despite the criticism leveled at it over last week's friendly at Easter Road, according to Stephen Halliday of the SCOTSMAN. The match "was boycotted by some Scotland supporters in protest at the alleged abuse of migrant workers' rights in the construction of stadiums for the 2022 World Cup." SFA CEO Stewart Regan has "robustly defended" his organization's relationship with its Qatari counterparts. Regan led a delegation to Qatar in February to "explore the possibility of longer-term links between the two associations." He said, "Those discussions are still ongoing. They may well lead to something, they may not. We've had no further dialogue with the Qatar FA since we visited in February. We talked about providing them with practical event management experience, having staged one of the most successful sporting events ever at Hampden last summer. It was called the best-ever Commonwealth Games. ... Qatar Airways are one of the leading global airline brands in the world. They were on the shirt of Barcelona, who lifted the Champions League on Saturday, and I didn't hear much moral indignation about that." Regan also believes it would be "premature to suggest" the SFA
could find itself "embarrassed" by its connections with Qatar if the
2022 World Cup is "found to have been secured illegally." Regan: "If
anything was to subsequently evolve, if there is any evidence of
wrong-doing, then we would be the first to recognize that any relationship we had at the time would have to be reconsidered" (SCOTSMAN, 6/10). The SCOTSMAN reported Regan has "broken his silence over a simmering row" with Irish FA CEO John Delaney. Regan branded Irish football bosses "insulting" and their conduct "ludicrous" ahead of Saturday's 2016 Euro qualifier clash in Dublin.
Scotland fans "have been allocated 3,500 tickets at the Aviva Stadium." Delaney is "currently defending allegations" the FAI pocked £5M ($7.8M)
to "stop an appeal" against Thierry Henry's handball in a 2010 World Cup
qualifier, which he claimed was a "good and legitimate deal." Making
a "swipe at the alleged payment" from FIFA, Regan said last night that "in Scotland, we do things professionally, we do things the right way" (SCOTSMAN, 6/10).
