Adam Idah and Aaron Connolly were ruled out of Ireland's Euro 2020 play-off against Slovakia as a result of being a close contact of a member of the travelling party who tested positive for the coronavirus.
The two Irish attackers were unable to play a part in the match in Bratislava, which Ireland lost following a penalty shootout, as a result of the two-metre rule, which deemed them to be close contacts.
Ireland manager Stephen Kenny revealed after the game that the team had appealed the decision but were ultimately left without two attacking options going into the must-win game.
Less than an hour before the game, the FAI released a statement revealing that another member of the backroom staff had tested positive.
The member of the backroom staff had tested negative in Dublin on Tuesday morning but a positive result came from a test in Bratislava on Wednesday.
"We have different rules in Ireland than you have in the UK, they're much more stringent," said Kenny, speaking to an English television reporter after the game.
"They would be deemed close contacts to one of our non-footballing staff, but it was just very, very harsh that they were ruled out. They were perfectly fine, there's nothing wrong with them, but the the two-metre rule in Ireland...
"If they were in the UK, they would have been perfectly entitled to play, but Ireland has more stringent rules and we had to abide by the medical advice.
"We appealed it on the basis of 1.7m as opposed to 1.9m - that's how far they were away as opposed to 2m, which would have made them okay, but that wasn't deemed sufficient, so that's the way it goes. You can't do anything about that.
"The two lads are fine. They feel fine, they feel perfectly well."
