FA relief at escaping ground closure

Although £68,000 would have been enough to retain at least two of the employees recently laid off by the Football Association, the organisation reacted with relief yesterday when Uefa levied a fine of that dimension over crowd trouble at last month's England international against Turkey.

The alternative, a ground closure which would have affected the 11 June European Championship qualifying tie against Slovakia at the Riverside, would have cost the impoverished FA nearly £2m. As Uefa's investigation was prompted by racist abuse and pitch invasions during the match in Sunderland, it would also have been deeply embarrassing to an organisation which has pioneered anti-racist campaigns and not been slow to trumpet them. It was that work, and the previous good record of England fans at home, which persuaded Uefa's control and disciplinary committee against closure.

"You cannot overlook the fact that this is an FA that has probably done the best work in Europe in terms of combating racism," said Mike Lee, Uefa's communications director.

While the fine was the highest imposed by the European game's governing body for a racism-related offence, its impact will be less severe than the ground closure enforced on Slovakia after their supporters abused black England players in Bratislava in October. Unlike Slovakia, England had not previously been warned about the behaviour of their home supporters, but they were left in no doubt that the next outbreak of crowd trouble, home or away, will see the full weight of Uefa's disciplinary powers brought to bear.

Given the record of English fans overseas, the FA is understandably anxious. The decision not to take tickets for the October return in Turkey may prevent serious trouble occurring there, but Lee indicated the FA might still be held responsible if there is. "Even if no tickets are taken for the game in Turkey, we know there is a danger of fans travelling," he said. "We don't want English fans putting the future of the English national team in jeopardy."

Should England qualify, it will be much harder to keep hooligans from the European Championship finals in Portugal next year. Uefa may, in the long term, have done England and the game in general a disservice in not enforcing a ground closure.

But Lee added: "This sends a very clear signal and warning to the English FA about the issues of safety and security and the racist behaviour of English fans. The FA should regard this as a final warning and I think they recognise that. The track record of travelling fans, particularly, is deplorable and the FA is taking further steps to show it is taking the matter seriously. We trust those steps are going to be effective, but if not disciplinary proceedings will be back on the agenda."

Uefa threatened to expel England from Euro 2000 after crowd trouble in Belgium, and if England fans cause problems in Portugal that punishment could be applied. Lee added: "The threat of expulsion is clearly something available to Uefa, particularly in respect of a final tournament."

During their four-hour hearing in Nyon, Switzerland, Uefa cleared both the English and Turkish FAs over separate charges relating to alleged incidents in the tunnel between players and staff "due to a lack of evidence".

Paul Barber, the FA's marketing and communications director, said England would not appeal against the verdict. "The message is clear and we respect this. Uefa can be assured we intend to maintain and step up our work in these important areas," he said.

This will include joining the police in a name-and-shame campaign against those supporters who invaded the pitch at Sunderland, using photos of the fans involved. "The FA accepts that there's too large a minority of fans involved in these problems. It is no longer acceptable for anyone to make excuses for this group of people," insisted Barber.

That last comment may refer to supporters' organisations who have tended to argue that English fans are usually the innocents when trouble occurs, a view which is not generally backed up by eyewitness evidence.

Middlesbrough were as relieved as the FA. The tie marks England's debut in the town and is the first international to be played there since World Cup matches were staged at Ayresome Park in 1966.

Keith Lamb, the club's chief executive, said: "The fact that the game will not be played behind closed doors is great news. We will be working very closely with the FA and the police to ensure there is no repeat of the problems that occurred around the game at the Stadium of Light. We want to ensure that it is a hugely enjoyable experience for England and Slovakia supporters alike." He is not alone.