The leaders of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland football have reacted with outrage at an historic announcement by the British Olympic Association that players from all home nations will be eligible for selection for Team GB at the London 2012 Games.
The announcement by the BOA was made with the knowledge of the Football Association but came as a shock to the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs.
Welsh FA president Phil Pritchard was furious and said: "We are not part of any agreement. The FA have no authority to speak on our behalf - they do not represent Wales whatsoever and that's a fact. We have not discussed this at any time recently."
SFA chief executive Stewart Regan spoke to his FA counterpart Alex Horne as recently as Monday night but was not aware any announcement was to be made.
In a statement, Horne said: "I'd like to thank our counterparts at the Welsh, Irish and Scottish FAs for their understanding on what is a difficult issue. We will look to confirm coaches of the men's and women's teams in due course to allow them to plan and prepare their squads for the games."
The BOA claimed that all the associations were aware there could be an announcement this month.
A BOA spokesman said "Contact [from the FA] has been continuing with the home Associations right up to the last 24 hours as part of a consultation process that has been ongoing for the last 18 months. All the home associations were aware of the prospective timeline, including the possibility of an initial announcement in June, since mid-May."
The three home associations have long opposed an all-British team at the London Games, fearing it could affect their separate identities in world football, and saying the team should be made up of English players only. A joint statement from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs claimed their views had been ignored.
The statement said: "No discussions took place with any of us, far less historic agreement been reached, prior to the statement from the BOA being released. The associations are committed to supporting the individual home nations playing all representative football under their respective flags as independent members of FIFA and UEFA."
BOA chief executive Andy Hunt said: "Seeing Team GB take to the pitch in 2012 will be one of the defining moments of the London Olympic Games. It would be unthinkable to host the Olympic Games in Great Britain and not have Team GB represented in both men's and women's football."
Source: PA
