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You mean England is in trouble for not forcing
the
Cheech and Chong ordinance....
???
that everyone should smoke marijuana before
going
to the game, to deter the possibility of
violence?
>>>
UEFA Blames British Government for Not Taking Appropriate
Measures
Soccer fans being sprayed by a
Belgian riot police water cannon after trouble broke out in the
center of Charleroi prior to the Euro 2000 Soccer Championships
match between England and Germany. (Peter Dejong/AP
Photo) | |
 |
L I E
G E, Belgium, June 18 — UEFA threatened to kick
England out of Euro 2000 today — following two days of street violence by
hooligans in Belgium — and slammed the British government for failing to
stop them traveling abroad.
UEFA made it clear England would face expulsion from Euro 2000 if
there was a repeat of violence at the three-week tournament in Belgium and
the Netherlands and called on Britain to take urgent action against its
hooligans.
UEFA’s Chief Executive Gerd Aigner
delivered the warning at a news conference after an emergency meeting of
the UEFA executive to discuss two days of violence in Charleroi and
Brussels before, during and after England’s match with Germany in
Charleroi on Saturday.
‘Blight
on the National Team’
Aigner said in a prepared statement:
“UEFA will have to determine whether the presence of the English national
team at this tournament may be maintained should there be a repetition of
similar incidents.”
He condemned the violence
and said: “English hooligans are a disgrace to their country and a blight
on the national team.
“Their actions over the
last 48 hours have left a scar on the tournament and left us wondering why
more wasn’t done to prevent them from
travelling.
“The scenes of the last two days
cannot be allowed to continue.”
The English
Football Association said it was concerned at the way UEFA had made its
decision and added that most of the offenders had been previously unknown
to the authorities.
“The question of how far
the FA is responsible for so-called fans … is a matter we will seek to
discuss at an urgent meeting we will be requesting with Gerd Aigner
tomorrow.”
Next
Match in Charleroi
England beat Germany 1-0 in Charleroi to
give themselves a good chance of reaching the last eight of the tournament
where they would play Italy in Brussels. England’s next match is against
Romania in Charleroi on Tuesday.
More than 900
fans, mostly English, were arrested amid ugly scenes in Brussels and
Charleroi on Friday and Saturday and 390 England supporters and 31 Germans
were deported on Saturday with more being expelled
today.
“Every other government concerned with
the competition took steps to stop known trouble-makers from travelling
except the British Government,” Aigner told Reuters
later.
“The German Government worked for a
year to prevent their worst offenders from leaving Germany. Now the UK
Government owes it to everyone concerned to take steps, similar to those
taken in other parts of the EU, to stop these so-called fans from
travelling abroad.
“We cannot allow more
people to spoil international tournaments for genuine
fans.
“Other governments have shown it can be
done and we call on the UK government to take the necessary steps as a
matter of urgency.”
‘It’s
Killing Football’
UEFA President Lennart Johansson said:
“This cannot go on any longer, it is killing football. What has happened
has come as no surprise to anyone, it has been going on for 30 years and
nothing has changed — and we cannot accept it any
longer.”
UEFA vice-president Egidius Braun,
president of the German Football Association, said: “When we told the
British Government what we were doing in Germany, the Home Officer
minister Jack Straw attacked me and said he was powerless to bring in laws
to stop people traveling abroad.
“He tried to
turn this into a political football — as if it was another important match
between England and Germany. But it was crystal clear what had to be
done.
“He knew what would happen. Why didn’t
he do what every other government minister in his position
did?”
“We worked for a year with 2,000
policemen to stop the hard-core from traveling. We confiscated their
passports — and, if we could, we put them in prison. We are in the EU, we
have the same laws and rules as everyone else — why couldn’t the British
Government do the same?”
The outbreak of
hooliganism seems certain to have seriously undermined England’s bid to
stage the 2006 World Cup finals. World governing body FIFA will choose the
venue on July 6 in Zurich from Brazil, England, Germany, Morocco and South
Africa.
In Portugal, British Prime Minister
Tony Blair said he hoped UEFA’s threat to boot England out of Euro 2000
would stop English hooligans in their tracks.
“Hopefully this threat will bring to their senses anyone tempted to
continue this mindless thuggery,” Blair said in a statement released to
Reuters. 
Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved.
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" I believe that every individual is naturally
entitled to do as
he pleases with himself and the fruits of his labor, so far
as
it in no way interferes with any other men's rights." -
Abraham Lincoln
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