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The Football Association have denied threatening to pull out of the Brazil friendly over an airport terminal row.

It is claimed the FA demanded to be allowed into Qatar for today's match through a special terminal, used only by senior officials from the oil-rich peninsula.

When they were refused, the warning is said to have been made that today's game - arranged as a reciprocal gesture after Brazil came to open the "new" Wembley in 2007 - could be in doubt, only for the FA to eventually back down.

However, the FA have a different version of events, insisting they only tried to establish which terminal they would be arriving at for security purposes and at no stage threatened to pull out of the game.

"At no point has anyone in the organisation threatened to withdraw from this fixture over travel arrangements," said an FA spokesman.

"We were perfectly satisfied with plans put in place upon arrival and did not ask to use the ministerial terminal in Doha."

There is a feeling that the Qatari officials have been left unhappy at England's lack of senior players.

Nine of Fabio Capello's first-choice line-up will be missing tonight if John Terry fails to overcome an ankle problem, plus David Beckham, the Three Lions' most recognisable star.

As Qatari FA president Mohammed Bin Hammam is also on the FIFA executive committee and therefore will be one of the 24 men who decide where the 2018 World Cup would be held, it would be a bad move to cause irritation to their hosts.

Little wonder therefore that FA officials are trying to end talk of discontent.

"From the very outset, Fabio Capello has been keen for his England team to test themselves against the best teams in the world," continued the FA spokesman.

"Matches against France, Germany, Spain and Holland are examples of this and Fabio also wanted to play Brazil, who are currently ranked number one in the world."