The Irish men's 4 x 100 metres Medley Relay team have had their invitation to compete at the Olympic Games withdrawn by FINA.
Swim Ireland this afternoon confirmed their invitation had been rescinded.
FINA, the world swimming body, say that the original invitation was issued in error.
ℹ️ We can confirm that we received correspondence from @fina1908 rescinding their invitation for Ireland to compete in Tokyo 2020's Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay.
We intend to challenge the decision and are currently exploring all options.
Full statement ➡️ https://t.co/uwbdKuHWA9 pic.twitter.com/a4GtamBfOl— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) June 7, 2021
It emerged on Saturday that Ireland's 4x100 and 4x200 teams were among the 16 countries set to participate in each event.
It was set to be the first time since the Munich Olympics in 1972 that Ireland was to have two relay teams at an Olympics.
It is understood that the 4x200 metre relay team is not affected by today's news.
In a statement today, Swim Ireland said:
"Swim Ireland can confirm that we received correspondence on Sunday, June 6 from FINA rescinding their invitation for Ireland to compete in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
"Having received and accepted FINA’s invitation to compete on Saturday, June 5, we are extremely disappointed that FINA have told us that the invitation was issued in error, particularly given the impact on the affected athletes.
"Our intention is to challenge the decision and we are currently exploring all options in this regard.
"The invitation for Ireland to compete in the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle relay is unaffected. The Tokyo Olympic Games will be the first time since 1972 that Ireland has competed in a swimming relay and the first time ever that an Irish male relay team will compete."
They also moved to clarify the Olympic Games qualifying procedure.
"16 countries participate in each swimming relay at the Olympic Games. The fastest 12 teams in the heats at the 2019 World Championships in Gwanju, South Korea gained automatic qualification for Tokyo 2020. The four remaining spots are filled based on performances at FINA designated meets during the qualification period, which ended on May 31, 2021."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
