No Becks row, says FA

The Football Association today insisted there were no problems between Sven-Goran Eriksson and David Beckham over the England captain’s late arrival for international duty.

The FA were responding to reports today which claimed there had been a row after the Real Madrid midfielder reported several hours later than expected at England’s Manchester training base yesterday due to flight delays.

FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: “There’s no row, there’s no issue with Sven, he’s perfectly satisfied with the situation.

“The situation is that Sven-Goran Eriksson was kept fully informed of David Beckham’s movements yesterday.

“His travel times were changed due to his flight being delayed following the (Real Madrid) match on Tuesday evening.

“This resulted in him flying into London rather than Manchester and obviously he then had to travel up to Manchester yesterday afternoon.”

Beckham’s groin injury was assessed by England medical staff on his arrival and Bevington said they were “quietly confident” he would play on Saturday in the Euro 2004 qualifier in Macedonia.