FA set to impose life bans on pitch invaders

In a timely response to the crowd problems surrounding England's recent international with Turkey at Sunderland, the Football Association last night revealed a zero tolerance policy for pitch invaders.

The FA, which will defend its handling of the European Championship qualifier at a Uefa hearing in Switzerland today, is to ban for life any spectator who enters the playing arena at internationals. The ban will cover all games where the FA distributes tickets, thus encompassing the FA Cup final and semi-finals. The punishment may be further extended to all professional football as the FA is to ask the Premier League and Football League to bar offenders from games under their jurisdictions.

Subject to ratification by the FA board next week, the game's UK governing body also intends to turn down its ticket allocation for the return fixture in Turkey in October. England supporters will be discouraged from attending unofficially in an attempt to avoid trouble at the fixture, the last in the Euro 2004 qualifying programme.

While enforcement of both initiatives may be problematic, it is a signal response to the pitch invasions and hooliganism which disfigured England's victory. There is a long and dishonourable history of England fans causing trouble overseas but this was the first time a home match had been marked by significant disturbances.

The FA, admitted Paul Barber, its director of marketing and communications, is anxious to prevent a culture of violence developing as it has abroad. Barber said: "We have not had these problems in the past at home matches and are concerned that some of the issues from the last game could become a problem in the future. We accept the minority which causes trouble is now too large a minority and we need to act. In the past we have been too slow to take certain situations seriously. We are taking strong action quickly as we do not want a repeat."

Depending on legal advice, the eight spectators arrested at Southampton (where one man invaded the pitch during England v Macedonia) and Sunderland could be the first to suffer the life bans. The decision to propose the rejection of tickets for the Turkey game follows consultation with police, individual fans and sponsors, all of whom expressed concern. Even before two Leeds United supporters died from stab wounds prior to a Uefa Cup tie in April 2000 there were problems surrounding Anglo-Turkish fixtures. Security plans have also been hindered by the Turks failing to confirm the match venue, with Fenerbahce's ground in Istanbul favourite.

It is anticipated many England fans will still travel. Past experience suggests some will get in, either through obtaining black-market tickets or through the local police allowing them entry rather than have them roaming around outside.

This was one of the objections to the proposal by the Football Supporters' Federation, which felt fans would be safer travelling officially. The FSA also complained that it had not been consulted .

While the FA denies that a deal has been struck with Uefa, European football's ruling body, before today's hearing, it may hope that the initiatives will aid its case in Nyon by indicating a firm commitment to solving the problem. The charges being considered by the Uefa disciplinary committee concern allegations of racist abuse by England fans, pitch invasions by spectators, and improper conduct of players and officials in the tunnel after the game.

The FA's defence, which seeks to dissuade Uefa from ordering them to play the 11 June qualifier against Slovakia at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium behind closed doors, will stress its record on anti-racism policies and England fans' good previous record at home matches. The FA, which stands to lose £1-2m from a ground closure, refutes suggestions that such a measure would result in better self-policing by England supporters. Nor does it believe the case can be compared with that of Slovakia, who had to play a match behind closed doors after racist abuse of England players in October. Slovakia, unlike England, had already been warned.

The European governing body will also decide on the punishment of the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, after he suggested that the Champions' League quarter-finals draw had been fixed.