Scotland's highest-ranking football official, David Will, says he will be doing all he can to find out why the Scottish-Irish bid was not among the final four candidates to host Euro 2008.

Favourites Austria and Switzerland were awarded the right to host the championship but it had been assumed the Celtic bid had come a close second.

However, the Scottish-Irish bid team were shocked to discover they were not among any of the four bids recommended to Uefa's executive committee, prompting suggestions of politically-motivated decision making.

Will, a Fifa vice-president and non-voting observer on Uefa's executive committee, said he would be making enquiries to find out why the bid was not put forward.

I cannot understand it - I believe our technical rating was even with Austria/Switzerland's David Will

Uefa's national team committee put forward Austria/Switzerland, Greece/Turkey, Hungary and the four-country Nordic bid as their recommendations.

And although Uefa's 14-man executive board did not have to follow that recommendation, they did.

Will said: "We were astounded.

"The national teams committee recommended four bids and we were not included and we never recovered from that.

"I still cannot believe it and I am trying to find out why."

In the end, the vote came down to a straight fight between Austria/Switzerland and - surprisingly - Hungary, with the joint bid winning to spark scenes of joy in Geneva.

The Scots and Irish were left to lick their wounds amid a sense of bafflement that their bid had failed so badly.

The national teams committee made their judgement based on technical evaluation of the bid and other considerations such as government support and the enthusiasm of the bidding countries' public.

Will added: "The executive committee takes the decision, not the national teams committee, but it would be very difficult for them not to follow those recommendations.

"In the event we were not even in the last four. I cannot understand it - I believe our technical rating was more or less even with Austria/Switzerland's."