FA charged over 'racist' supporters
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Your support makes all the difference.England face the threat of being forced to play their next European Championship qualifier behind closed doors after Uefa yesterday charged the Football Association over racist abuse during last week's international against Turkey.
The FA had already been charged over pitch invasions during the 2-0 win by England, but now faces the more serious charge of racism by England supporters following an official complaint from the Turkish Football Federation. Uefa's disciplinary body has already punished Slovakia this season for racist abuse of England fans by making them play one game in an empty stadium.
A decision will be made on 1 May, with England's match against Slovakia at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium the one which would be affected by any penalty. The FA has until April 21 to submit its response.
However, Uefa's communications director, Mike Lee, said that it was by no means automatic that England would receive the same punishment as Slovakia. "I cannot make any predictions about this current case, but we do believe there is a serious case to answer," he said. "You cannot compare cases, you have to deal with them individually, look at their track record, what occurred and whether it was inside or outside the stadium, and what was the scale of the incident and the nature of the offence."
Disciplinary proceedings have also been instigated against the Turks for the improper conduct of their players in the tunnel after the match.
* Chelsea have been warned by the FA that they are likely to face a misconduct charge if their fans throw any more missiles at players. The club have already banned 27 supporters after two incidents of objects being hurled at Thierry Henry during their two FA Cup quarter-final games with Arsenal last month.
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