Double jeopardy for players as FA willing to work with police

THE English Football Association yesterday indicated their willingness to work alongside the police in serious cases, although they stressed these are extremely isolated.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s ‘Crime In Sport’ conference took place yesterday at Covent Garden in London, with violence between professionals and the possibility of criminal charges being brought for on-field misdemeanours set to dominate the agenda. While happy to co-operate in the rare cases of serious misconduct, the FA also pointed out they have an existing disciplinary structure of their own which cracks down on any offenders.

An FA spokesman said: “We have rules and regulations within the disciplinary system to deal with on-field offences but, in certain cases, we work closely with the police if they are pursuing inquiries.”

There have been only a handful of high-profile such cases in recent years, with the on-pitch brawl between Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer being the most obvious last season.

Alan Smith was questioned by police after accusations that he threw a plastic bottle at a supporter in the crowd, leading to his exclusion from an England squad in November 2003 but no charges were ever brought.

Police also looked into the incident in which Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher threw a coin back into the crowd at Highbury in January 2002 and he was given a formal warning.

Former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona was, meanwhile, sentenced to 120 hours’ community service for his kung-fu kick on a fan at Selhurst Park in 1995.

However, leading sports lawyer Steven Barker insisted that dishing out punishment to football’s miscreants should be left to the game’s ruling authorities.

He believes the legal profession should only become involved if an event was “so outrageous that it is not a sporting incident.”

“In some cases we could see players facing double jeopardy”, he said, arguing that if a player had been fined by his club and the FA to then face criminal prosecution could mean him being charged many times for the same offence.

He also said that the pressure sportsman were under when they went onto the pitch should not be underestimated.

“They don’t have the experience to be role models. What other industry holds up 18-year-olds to be role models?” he said.