Beckham accuses Turkey of provocation

The animus between England and Turkey that led to on-field scuffles during the Euro 2004 qualifier in Sunderland on Wednesday and, allegedly, to a Turkish kit man making throat-slitting gestures at the home players afterwards could prompt the Football Association to ban English fans from travelling to the return fixture in October.

Such a move would probably be welcomed in Turkey, where the national coach, Senol Gunes, yesterday called England culturally backward. The head of the Turkish FA, Haluk Ulusoy, added that English fans had "lost all sense of values."

The ill-tempered game at the Stadium of Light featured numerous rash tackles, not least by David Beckham, who accused the Turkish players of questioning his sexuality and of pinching and kicking to incite England's players.

Gareth Southgate added that the Turks had a "reputation for being volatile" and said there had been a flare-up in the tunnel after the game. "I was down there and it was a bit hectic," he said. "There was a bit of pushing and a lot of banter. 'Wait until you come to Turkey' was the shout, with fingers being passed across throats. And that was just the kit man."

Although the Middlesbrough defender qualified his claims by saying that "these things happen when the adrenalin is pumping, and it all calmed down pretty quickly", they will not calm tensions between the sides.

The gestures of throat-slitting, if true, will be seen as in especially poor taste in light of the two Leeds fans who were stabbed to death before their club's Uefa Cup match with Galatasaray in Istanbul three years ago tomorrow.

The FA sought to play down claims that England's goalkeeping coach, Ray Clemence, had been involved in a tunnel altercation with Aston Villa's Alpay Ozalan, although Clemence admitted there had been "colourful exchanges".

The FA will not launch an official investigation into the tunnel exchanges, although it is examining crowd disturbances. Most, if not all, of the bad behaviour came from home fans, and booing the Turkish anthem was a precursor to numerous nasty incidents.

One English group consistently goaded the official Turkish entourage, including the Under-21 squad, who were sitting in the stands immediately in front of the press-box. Post-match taunts of "byebye losers" and "go home, you f***ing ragheads" provoked some of the younger Turkish players to shout back, but senior Turkish officials quickly persuaded their colleagues to calm down and ignore the abuse.

"We are upset about losing," Ulusoy said. "But more upsetting was the disrespect when the national anthem was sung. We faced English fans who have lost all sense of values. It should not be like that."

Gunes said he was particularly upset about the pitch invasions after England's goals and also the booing of Turkey's anthem. "It's wrong. These are provocative actions," he said. "We had wanted to see a calmer match in the cradle of football, England. The disrespect to our national anthem was wrong. It shows that countries said to be advanced culturally are actually behind."

As far as England were concerned, Beckham said that despite being goaded on the pitch, the England players had maintained their discipline; a statement not entirely supported by his own rash demeanour early in the game. "There was some kicking and pinching going on, and someone even questioned my sexuality," said the England captain, who was clearly seen blowing kisses at several Turkish players in a mock gesture of defiance. Beckham added that Rio Ferdinand had been pinched in an effort to make him react, but that England had not risen to the bait. The jury is still out on that one.

Clemence insisted that reports of a "tunnel bust-up" had been "blown out of all proportion". But he added: "When you've got 30 grown men in a small space at the end of the tunnel, then there's bound to be some colourful exchanges. Instances like these are not unusual in football."

The FA's spokesman, Paul Newman, added: "There was a packed tunnel at the end of a tense match full of total commitment and passion from both sides, rather than a classical musical recital. There were some strong exchanges of views and some pushing and shoving. But there was no bust-up and no throwing of punches. After a minute or so, everyone had retired to their dressing-rooms."

In an attempt to calm the atmosphere, the FA will consider banning England fans from going to Turkey in October.