FA warn fans could get England banned from Europe

ENGLAND fans were last night warned that they risk bringing the national shame of a Euro 2004 ban upon their country if they travel to Turkey for next month’s high-risk qualifier.

The Football Association have rejected their ticket allocation for the game in Istanbul for fear of another outbreak of trouble between England and Turkey fans.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has already appealed to supporters not to fly to Istanbul for the make-or-break game, warning them that they could even face being killed.

The FA have nevertheless seen how up to 500 fans flouted a similar ticket ban before last weekend’s qualifier in Macedonia. And while they perceived that game to be a “qualified success”, they accept that they now face a 30-day battle to save England’s international reputation. They have warned that the lack of any segregation in Istanbul places supporters at direct risk of being caught up in trouble and thereby harming the national side’s qualification chances.

England are already on a final warning with UEFA to clean up their act after the ugly scenes which marred their 2-0 win against Turkey in Sunderland last April. The ultimate sanction which could be used against them would be a ban from taking part in the Euro 2004 finals, if they qualify.

Paul Barber, the FA’s head of marketing and communications, believes this could be more harmful to the national game than the post-Heysel ban on clubs taking part in European competitions. “The consequences of losing our place in the European Championships would be very significant for English football.

“There would be the damage to our reputation, the financial impact, the damage to our relationships in the international football community and difficulties with our sponsors.

“Being kicked out of a major football competition is about as bad as it gets for a national football team.

“That’s why we’re working so desperately hard to make sure that doesn’t happen and we can’t do it on our own. “We’re getting great help from the authorities, but the fans have to play their part. This is our country. This is national pride here. If our fans genuinely love their country and genuinely support their national team, then we would say ‘don’t put us in the position where we could be kicked out of a major football competition’.”

The FA have at least been reassured by the Turkish federation that their president, Haluk Ulusoy, has denied making reported comments effectively inviting England fans without tickets to Istanbul.

However, they still realise the seriousness of the situation, with racial abuse of players, a few instances of crowd unrest and a hostile atmosphere in Skopje having provided just a foretaste of what may lie ahead in Istanbul.

Not only were two Leeds supporters killed in the Turkish capital three years ago, but there was trouble ahead of Arsenal’s UEFA Cup final against Galatasaray a couple of months later.

Meanwhile UEFA are to start disciplinary proceedings against the Macedonian Football Association, following racist abuse which marred Saturday’s clash. Monkey chants appeared to be aimed at Emile Heskey during the game.