FA charged after fan violence
The Football Association have been charged by UEFA over the “improper behaviour” of England supporters in Croatia.
The Croatian Football Federation have also been charged for allegedly mishandling the entry of fans into the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb ahead of the Euro 2008 qualifier earlier this month, as well as failure to control some of the home fans.
The matter will be dealt with at the next meeting of UEFA’s control and disciplinary body on November 9, with the FA confirming they will strongly contest the charge.
UEFA director of communications William Gaillard said: “In the case of the English FA the charge is misconduct of the supporters. It is just a charge, levelled by the prosecution.
“This (the FA’s mitigation) will be part of the case, and of course the control and disciplinary body has the power to dismiss the case for one or both of the Fas, or to apply sanctions.
“On the side of the Croatian FA, (the charge) is specifically the mishandling of the entrance process in the stadium in Zagreb and also some crowd misbehaviour.”
If found guilty the FA could face anything from a fine to being forced to play England matches behind closed doors, though the FA are confident they have a strong case to present in their defence.
Gaillard acknowledged that the old reputation of England fans as hooligans and trouble-makers had diminished in recent years.
“Since the Charleroi incident (during Euro 2000), which is a long six years back, the behaviour of English fans has been quite exemplary in UEFA competitions,” Gaillard told Sky Sports News.
“Certainly you have heard no complaints from us. We know the tremendous efforts that the English FA has put into this part of the game, and I know that this effort is always improving.
“So this (charge) is kind of a new occurrence, what happened in Zagreb. But we have to figure out exactly what the dynamics of the incident were.”
The FA expressed their unhappiness at the time concerning the treatment of England fans by Croatian police and how the entry of fans with official tickets into the Maksimir Stadium was managed.
They accused the Croatian authorities of baton-charging England fans indiscriminately and criticised stewarding around the ground.
They made their concerns known to a UEFA delegate before and after the match.
England fans without tickets were able to break through the security cordon around the ground, sparking concern among security guards.
Stadium officials then decided to shut the turnstiles for two five-minute periods, causing panic to spread among those fans who had travelled with tickets.
Supporters squeezed towards the gates, and police reacted by brandishing their batons.
Some England supporters suffered head injuries.
UEFA also confirmed they are investigating allegations by England Under-21 players of racist abuse following their play-off victory over their German counterparts earlier this month.
Micah Richards and Anton Ferdinand both alleged they were called “monkeys” by opposition players at the BayArena during the second leg of their qualification play-off, which England won 2-0 through late goals from substitute Theo Walcott.
The matter will be addressed at the UEFA meeting on November 9.
