England are fined £9,000 by Uefa

The Football Association has escaped with little more than a slapped wrist for the crowd trouble involving England supporters at the Euro 2004 qualifying match against Slovakia in October after Uefa yesterday imposed a £9,000 fine.

The game's European governing body were more severe on the Slovakians, fining them £27,000 – the second-highest fine ever imposed by Uefa for racist abuse – after Emile Heskey and Ashley Cole were verbally attacked, and for the lack of organisation in the stadium in Bratislava.

There were a couple of flashpoints involving England fans in the stadium during the game on 12 October and at one point police waded in with batons.

The FA was aided in its case by the submission of a detailed dossier alleging local security staff allowed up to 2,000 ticketless or unauthorised England fans into the stadium.

The disciplinary panel last month appointed an inspector to look into the claims and though Uefa said the allegations were not entirely proven they did recognise the "considerable efforts taken by the FA to organise their supporters for away matches".

The FA has until Saturday if they want to lodge an appeal, but, with such an insignificant fine, that course of action seems unlikely. The FA spokesman Paul Newman said: "We welcome the comments made by Uefa's control and disciplinary body in acknowledging the efforts made to control our supporters during the game.

"They have also very clearly taken into account our submission on the responsibilities of the Slovakian authorities with regard to the organisation of the match. We will now be considering whether an appeal is appropriate."

The punishment will hit the Slovakians much harder – for them £27,000 is a significant sum and only Lazio have been fined more for racist incidents.

It could have been even more severe, but Uefa said the fine was mitigated "by the fact this was a first offence for such behaviour, that the Slovakian FA had expressed deep regret, issued personal apologies to the parties concerned and were now active in the campaign against racism".

However, if such behaviour occurs again then they face being forced to play a match behind closed doors.

The England coach Sven Goran Eriksson says he is missing the cut and thrust of club football and admitted that national teams are losing their status in the face of increased club competition. In an interview with the Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport published yesterday, Eriksson was asked if he missed the Italian championship where he had coached Sampdoria and Lazio.

"I miss the pressure of the matches, the daily contact with the players in training – they can tire you but they fire you up," he said. "Now I have at the most 10 games a year. As a national coach that is the only thing that I miss because I have everything else."

With the rise of the Champions' League some observers have suggested that national teams have been marginalised and Eriksson said he shared that view. "It is true. That is the tendency. Myself and my other colleagues try to give our best, but between the many other commitments and injuries it is difficult to put out a good representative side," he said.

The Swede, who won the Italian title with Lazio in 2000 and has a flat in Rome and an Italian girlfriend, said he planned a return to Italy at some stage. "Your country has stayed in my heart and sooner or later I will return to live," he said. "But this is not the moment to set dates."

Asked whether he had considered quitting his post with England after a series of media reports into his private life Eriksson said: "I feel well in my job and I am concentrated on getting the squad into the finals of the European Championships in Portugal. That road is not simple."

* The FA has "absolutely rejected" reports claiming that its finances were in a "shambles" and that they could have to axe between 10 and 20 percent of all staff. In a statement yesterday the FA said it would finish its review of finances and priorities, including the funding of the National Football Centre, by the end of the year. However, it is still reviewing its budgets and, as part of this process, the FA's executive board has now granted the centre's project team "further time to consider alternative funding options".