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Home  » Sports » England slapped record fine for crowd trouble

England slapped record fine for crowd trouble

May 01, 2003 23:18 IST
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UEFA have fined England 150,000 Swiss francs ($110,600) following crowd trouble at last month's Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey.

Europe's ruling body found the English Football Association guilty of charges of racist abuse and pitch invasions by England fans at the Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey in Sunderland on April 2.

The fine is the largest handed out for a racism-related charge, UEFA spokesman Mike Lee said.Lee said its disciplinary committee had considered ordering England to play their next Group Seven qualifier, against Slovakia on June 11 at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, behind closed doors.

But he said England's efforts to tackle racism had been taken into account and "at this stage ground closure was not appropriate".

The cash-strapped FA said before the hearing that it could lose up to 2 million pounds ($3.20 million) in revenue through having to play behind closed doors against the Slovaks.

England's 2-0 victory over Turkey was marred by two pitch invasions after the two second-half goals, racist chants and
clashes with police who made 95 arrests.

On the eve of the UEFA meeting, England's FA revealed plans for a crackdown on troublemakers, including life bans for any fans who ventured on to the pitch at England games.

FA officials also urged British police and courts to take firm action against the hooligan element among England fans and promised new initiatives to combat racism at games.

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Source: REUTERS
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