|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
England fans said they would defy bans by the England and Turkey football authorities and go to Istanbul for the key Euro 2004 qualifier.
Kevin Miles, international co-ordinator for the Football Supporters' Association, said a small number of fans were prepared to take the risk for Saturday's clash.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson's men will run out at the 50,000-capacity Sukru Saracoglu Stadium knowing a point will be enough to book their place in Portugal next summer.
But they will be aware that a repeat of the crowd trouble which marred their 2-0 victory over the Turks at Sunderland in April could see them thrown out of the tournament regardless of the result. Ticketmaster
The Football Association is taking no chances, and having rejected its official ticket allocation for the game has urged fans not to travel because of fears of a repeat of the violence that has marred encounters between the two countries in the past.
The most serious incident came in April 2000, when two Leeds supporters were stabbed to death in a brawl before a UEFA Cup tie against Istanbul club Galatasaray. Ticketmaster
When the two national teams met in Sunderland in April, England's victory was tarnished by pre-match violence, two pitch invasions and the racist taunting of the Turkish fans by the home support.
ADVERTISEMENT
England were fined a record 70,000 pounds (111,000 dollars) by UEFA after that
match and have been warned further misbehaviour from their fans will result
in them being thrown out of the Euro 2004 finals.
Turkish authorities have vowed to keep England fans out of the stadium.
But Miles says some England fans will go ahead and travel, just as they did in Macedonia last month.
"I don't think it will be in sizeable numbers, but there will be people going," he said Monday. Ticketmaster
"A lot of people booked flight packages a long time ago. I know of some who have asked to get their money back, but the tour operators have declined because they're not obliged - it's not as if anything they've offered has not come through.
"I think the attitude is that if the security measures were 99 per cent effective, which would be a lot to ask, that would still mean two or three people would get in to see the game. Ticketmaster
"I think people regard it a little bit like a lottery ticket - if you knew the odds weren't very good in advance, you might not buy a ticket, but if you've already bought your ticket, you might as well go into the draw.
"But I don't
think we're looking at big numbers."