UEFA delay play-off decision

European governing body UEFA will decide at an executive meeting tomorrow on the format for the Euro 2000 play-off draw.

The draw will be held in Aachen in Germany tomorrow afternoon but first the organisers have to decide whether to seed any of the eight sides who won through to the November games by finishing second in the nine qualifying sections at the weekend. The UEFA top brass will decide tomorrow morning after delaying a meeting yesterday to decide the issue.

Denmark won the competition in 1992 but the other countries have little form in the European championships with Israel, Slovenia and Ukraine all trying to reach their first major finals.

On past record there is little case for seeding any of the teams but UEFA may want to keep England away from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland for security reasons. A 1995 friendly game for the English in Dublin had to be abandoned before the end of the first half after an organised hooligan element attacked fans and wrecked part of the Lansdowne Road ground. England and Scotland matches have also seen regular crowd trouble that led to the abandonment of a regular fixture between the two nations fourteen years ago.

A seeding for the English would steer them away from trouble in the draw and give them a good chance of avoiding a major threat from a fine Ukraine side.

UEFA draws rarely use the ‘first out of the hat' principle which is the standard in competitions like the Coppa Italia and FA Cup in England when they reach the later stages. There is no hint yet on any criteria they will use to divide the countries into four top seeds and four other contenders. The draw takes place at 3pm tomorrow afternoon with the ties to be decided on November 13th and 17th on a home and away basis.