Spain FA decision dashes NI hopes

Northern Ireland's very slim hopes of replacing Spain in this summer's Euro 2008 finals appear to be dashed.

Uefa warned Spain they could be thrown out of the Championships if their government attempted to interfere in the Spanish FA's presidential election.

However, the Spanish FA voted on Monday to ignore any advice from their government and will proceed with their election as originally planned.

Spain topped their qualifying group for the Championship with NI in third.

Luis Aragonés side along with second-placed Sweden qualified for this summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland from Group F, with Nigel Worthington's side missing out.

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