Eriksson to miss Shergar Cup

Eriksson will now travel to Dublin instead Flashback to 2002 Shergar Cup

England football manager Sven Goran Eriksson has been forced to pull out of leading the Rest of the World team against Britain and Ireland in Saturday's Blue Square Shergar Cup at Ascot.

Eriksson was also scheduled to hold a football masterclass for children with England's under-21 manager David Platt, the manager of the Britain and Ireland team.

However, the Swede will be in Dublin on Saturday watching Aston Villa play Leeds United as he prepares for England's friendly against Croatia later this month.

The FA's head of media relations, Adrian Bevington, said Eriksson had no idea of the Dublin clash when he agreed to head the Rest of the World team in racing's answer to the Ryder Cup.

Photos: Shergar Cup 2002

"Sven was not aware of the fixture when he initially committed to attend the event at Ascot," said Bevington.

"He had requested a list of already arranged fixtures at that time, as it was always his professional view that he should be watching an appropriate football match - if one was being played.

"While he is disappointed to withdraw from the event at late notice, he believes it is for the right reasons, with the match against Croatia due to be played in just over two weeks."

Nick Smith, Bevington's opposite number at Ascot, issued a statement on behalf of the course.

We were hopeful that a solution might be possible Ascot's Nick Smith

"The game in Dublin was only scheduled very recently, we are informed, and we spent much of Monday trying to reach an agreement that would allow Sven to take in both engagements.

"We were hopeful that a solution might be possible which would see Sven hosting the children's sporting masterclass and then moving on to the game."

No replacement for Eriksson has been announced yet.

The six-strong Rest of the World team includes Frankie Dettori, New Zealander Shane Dye, Japan's number one Yutake Take and Frenchman Olivier Peslier.