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Will England be kicked out of Euro 2004?
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| evil_bastard |
I didn't pay much attention to this story when it was announced about 10 days ago, but having just read the full articles I think England's fate in the Euro 2004 campaign may already have been decided.
That's because the man behind threats to evict England from the tournament is the same controversial figure who banned all English clubs from European football for 5 years in 1985 and in Euro 2000 England narrowly escaped eviction from the tournament at the mercy of the same man. Gerhard Aigner is soon to leave his post as UEFA Chief Executive, but says he will not hesitate to throw England out of the European Championships if there is any more trouble from fans.
The man knows fine well there will be trouble, that's why he's doing this. Despite police warning of some of the most serious football violence Britain has seen in years, UEFA proceeded to allow thousands of Turkish fans to arrive in Sunderland for a crucial fixture. In my view, Aigner got exactly the ammunition he needed. Now, rather than force England to play their next game 'behind closed doors' as UEFA did to Slovakia, they are instead threatening to evict us from the tournament completely!
The sad truth is there will be more violence. Let's have a look at England's remaining fixtures for the qualifiers:
England v Slovakia - June 11
Last clash was in October. 2 England fans shot amidst violence in Bratislava, one in the leg and one in the throat. England's black players subjected to racist abuse.
Macedonia v England - September 6
No notable crowd troubles in the last match. England express their disgust at Macedonia's play-acting as they are held to an embarrassing draw. English players refuse to shake hands with their Macedonian opponents, Macedonia take offense.
England v Lichtenstein - September 10
Played each other in March. 25 English fans arrested in Zurich before the game. Police use tear gas and rubber bullets to control the rioting. Fans smash windows and throw bottles, 3 English fans shot and another 2 stabbed.
Turkey v England - October 11
Last match in April. Rival hooligan firms pledge to set aside their differences to target the Turks, police predict worst violence in years. English fans fail to exact their revenge on Turkish fans as they battle with a massive police escort. Rival English firms turn on each other, over 100 arrested in Sunderland. Pitch invasions after both England goals, racist chanting throughout the game.
Now perhaps I'm just being very cynical here, but I can't see all four of these games occuring without any violence, espescially if it goes right to the wire. When violence flares I think UEFA will pounce. UEFA have long been suspected of an anti-English stance, no other country has been so heavily punished as England, and so far in this tournament we have seen riots across Europe but it seems only England will take the rap for it.
Is England's fate already sealed? Are we a scapegoat? Even if we are evicted, will it stop the violence? Does anyone think any of this is fair/unfair? How would you feel if England were evicted from Euro 2004? Some thoughts from Europeans would be interesting... |
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| PacMan |
i personally feel uefa can ban a country just cuz some few of the fans are violent. they should rather ban the violent ppl and let the game be the game and not who hit who on the outside of the field....
and what country is this guy from`?
cuz i have this weird feeling every once in a while that france controlls the uefa and fifa commmites |
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| evil_bastard |
He's German.
But hey, that shouldn't be a problem, when it comes to football the Germans love England :rolleyes:
| quote: | | i personally feel uefa can ban a country just cuz some few of the fans are violent. they should rather ban the violent ppl and let the game be the game and not who hit who on the outside of the field |
Exactly. And we're not the only country to cause trouble, why do we have to take the rap for it! The Slovaks and the Swiss have shot England fans this year and the only reason England fans are so worked up about Turkey is because of all the violence in Istanbul when they murdered those Leeds fans. And what about those Georgian fans throwing a penknife, a bottle and whatever else at the Irish players? I don't see UEFA threatening to ban these countries. |
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| gatecrasher |
| UEFA seem to discriminate against the English because of their history, they have done nothing in Italy against the inheritant racism for example and give very little credit to England for reducing hooliganism and for virtually kicking racism out of the English game. |
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| Project T |
| the english fa are a bunch of pussies tho when it comes 2 internatonal matters yet they are right s on home turf. if we get kicked out i don't see the violence ending, it will just increase at other international sporting events as payback. |
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| evil_bastard |
I think you may have a point, we do seem to be lying back and taking it, or at least the FA is. The FA should be out there exposing this injustice, instead of sheepishly saying "lads, please behave, they're on our backs" to the nation's fans. Ten or twenty years down the line noone will remember whether England were rightly or wrongly kicked out, they will just remember the fact that we were kicked out and immediately think badly of us, it will set a precedent and scar our name for a long time, we need to fight this not bow down to the pressure.
I think England are the victim of a witch hunt here, look at the escalating violence in places like Italy and Turkey, some of these matches are becoming like warzones and somewhere along the line the English have got the blame! I would say England has done more than any other nation to stop hooliganism in the last 10 years, yet still we are subject to these immature stereotypes by Aigner and his henchmen, determined to offload the blame. |
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| Project T |
| i really don't think they will be able to kick us out no matter what, or at least i hope so :) |
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| evil_bastard |
England v Slovakia tonight.
Howay Lads! |
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| dreamdecks |
hehe look at him, he has big ears.
i think itd be a disgrace if england get chucked out, and if that did, the fans who are the cause of it would just get worse the next time we are in a competition. you dont see turky getting banned do you, look at all the violence thay have caused with international and club games. |
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| Project T |
| ah well, a win and no trouble, getting there :) |
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| RubiK Cube |
| They threaten to kick England out of Euro 2004 because the fans ran on to the pitch when we scored, therefore they better do something similar (imo harsher) to Turkey. In there match against Macedonia, the turkish fans constantly threw objects at the opposition players, actually striking one of them. This is a lot more serious than what happened at the Stadium of Light and this sort of action occurs alot more in Turkey than in England. |
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| evil_bastard |
The FA have decided not to take up England's ticket allocation for both the Macedonia and Turkey games. In other words England fans aren't allowed see their own team :rolleyes:
BBC links:
FA rejects Macedonia tickets
FA turns down Turkey tickets
| quote: | The Football Association has decided not to take up its ticket allocation for England's next Euro 2004 qualifier in Macedonia.
The governing body is still concerned that another outbreak of trouble in Macedonia on 6 September could lead to England being thrown out of the competition. |
| quote: | "It was the unanimous view of the Board that the FA should not take its allocation of tickets for the match against Turkey," read a statement on the FA website.
"This decision was reached after wide consultation and with a view to the safety and security of all fans, Turkish and English. |
The FA need to sort out where they actually stand in all of this. Does anyone really think banning fans from watching their beloved sport is going to solve anything??? This whole thing is becoming a farce, can anyone tell me this heinous crime which only England have committed, I'd love to hear it. |
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