Press reports in the Australian continent indicate that Uruguay has requested a change in the scheduled kick-off time for the second leg of the 2006 Germany World Cup Playoff against Australia. The two Football Associations have a history of moving the kick-off times, so that the opposite team gets in a disadvantaged position due to jetlag.

The Uruguayan Football Association appears to be in a logistical crisis, being unable to charter a flight at a convenient date/time for the second leg of their World Cup Playoff. The scheduled flight would force them to land in Sydney just a day before the match, leaving the team no time to get used of the time difference.

The irony in the whole story is that it was Uruguay who had picked the kick-off time and not Australia. The South American team officials are desperate for Australia to agree to the change, however, this seems highly unlikely as comments quoted from Australia team officials by the Australian press suggest that the Aussies will not accept for such a change.

There has been a series of hostile incidents, with the first attributed to a local media baron in Uruguay who paid thugs to intimidate and spit on the Australia players just as they arrived in Montevideo for their World Cup Qualifier in November 2001.

Back in October 2005, the socceroos refused a request by the Uruguayan Football Association to move the date of the first leg a day earlier, in November the 11th. On the 18th of October, the Australian Football Association chief executive John O'Neill announced that the team will not hesitate to walk off the field in Montevideo if they feel threatened.

On the 23rd of October 2005, Uruguay changed the kick-off time to 21:00, forcing the Australians to charter a plane to return to Sydney. Last week, Uruguay coach Jorge Fossati raised his suspicions for the appointment of a Belgian referee for the Sydney return leg. Fossati argued that Belgium is a country which borders Holland, Australia's coach Guus Hiddink country.

Last Saturday Uruguay requested from FIFA to change the time for the Montevideo game back to its original time (17:00). FIFA replaced its selection of referees with a trio from Spain.

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