THE FAI have not ruled out the possibility of playing twice at the Aviva Stadium within 48 hours in order to ensure that a proposed Dublin return for England goes ahead next March.

Before last May's successful encounter at Wembley, the English FA had given a commitment they would come to Ireland, and officials had been looking towards spring 2015, just after the 20-year anniversary of the infamous Lansdowne Road debacle that was abandoned due to crowd trouble caused by visiting fans.

Sunday's Euro 2016 draw put a spanner in the works, with the new UEFA fixture list, spread from Thursday to Tuesday, pencilling Ireland in for a crucial qualifier with Poland on Sunday, March 29 with England at home to Lithuania on March 27.

In order for the lucrative fixture to go ahead within that international window, it would have to take place on Tuesday, March 31 – leaving Martin O'Neill's (above) men with little recovery time and increasing the chances of a depleted team being selected.

The FAI discussed the situation with their English counterparts in France and it's believed that they haven't dismissed the idea of a quick turnaround. "Discussions are ongoing with the FA," said an FAI spokesperson. "We spoke to them after the draw and will speak to them later in the week."

November 2014 was originally mentioned as a possible window and there is room for a game following the trip to Scotland, but 2015 is viewed as a more likely option despite the fact that the FAI could do with a big Dublin date this year, given that their only Aviva qualifier is the visit of Gibraltar.

If the March plan fails to come off or is vetoed by O'Neill, then the occasion would be delayed until the summer of 2015 at the earliest when Ireland welcome Scotland to Dublin on June 13, while England are in Slovenia 24 hours later.

Irish Independent