Mick McCarthy’s future as Republic of Ireland manager has been thrown into doubt following the postponement of the European Championship to 2021.
The 61-year-old’s contract was due expire at the end of Euro 2020, should his team qualify for the finals via the play-offs.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced UEFA to postpone the tournament by 12 months, however.
Ireland were due to face Slovakia in their play-off semi-final on March 26 and, if they won, then either Bosnia and Herzegovina or Northern Ireland in the final.
It is unclear when these matches will go ahead to decide who will take the final places at the tournament now scheduled to take place in 2021, though there are suggestions a June date has been pencilled in for the play-off fixtures.
McCarthy was due to be succeeded by Ireland’s Under-21 manager Stephen Kenny at the end of the Euros, but it is not clear what will now happen.
The former Ireland captain took over as manager in November 2018 and saw his side narrowly miss out on automatic qualification for the finals of the tournament.
The Daily Mail reported last week that McCarthy is expected to have a conversation with FAI about staying on in the role until the end of the 2021 competition.
The European Championship had been set to take place between June 12 and July 12 this summer but UEFA decided on Tuesday to delay it by 12 months.
Matches were due to be played in London, Baku, Munich, Rome, Saint Petersburg, Amsterdam, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin and Glasgow.
The tournament, played in the same format, will now take place from June 11 to July 11, 2021.
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