Croatian and English FAs face UEFA charges
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-10-26 09:17 LONDON - The Croatian and
English Football Associations were charged by UEFA, European soccer's governing
body, for improper behaviour at their Euro 2008 qualifier in Zagreb on October
11.
The charges relate to incidents inside and outside Dinamo Zagreb's Maksimir
Stadium where Croatia beat England 2-0 in their Group E qualifier.
The charges will be heard by UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body at UEFA's
headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on November 9.
William Gaillard, FIFA's Director of Communications told Sky Sports News:
"The charge against the Croatian FA is that they mis-handled the entrance
procedure and there was crowd misbehaviour."
He said the charge against the English FA related to fans' behaviour.
Adrian Bevington, spokesman for the English FA, told Sky Sports News: "We are
extremely surprised to have been charged by UEFA. We will contest this and
request a personal hearing and seek to call up as many witnesses as we require.
"We have had a vast amount of communication and correspondence from English
supporters who were in Zagreb who faced difficult situations during the game."
Bevington said the English FA were not responsible for policing outside the
stadium where a major incident was caused when a number of turnstiles were
suddenly closed without warning as fans were entering the stadium creating a
serious bottleneck.
The Croatian FA were not available for comment.
FANS ARRESTED
Croatian police detained more than 200 supporters for disorderly behaviour
surrounding the match.
A police statement said that 187 Croatian fans and 31 English supporters were
detained for incidents away from the ground while a further 25 England fans were
arrested inside the stadium shortly after the match kicked off following a clash
with stewards at one of the gates.
The police report said that England fans assaulted security staff at the
entrance to the southern tier, after which 25 of them were detained.
Police said 20 visiting fans were released immediately after the match.
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