England through despite rare slip by Beckham
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Job done, just about. England fought for a draw from a bad-tempered match in Turkey last night to qualify for the Euro 2004 finals next summer. They had no fans, no Rio Ferdinand and no luck in Istanbul, where the captain David Beckham slipped as he went to take a penalty and missed, extravagantly, in front of 50,000 Turkish fans. A heavy police presence coupled with Foreign Office warnings and British detectives at Ataturk airport ensured hardly any supporters made the journey - except 45 who were stopped at the arrivals gate and sent home.
The only hint of trouble off the pitch was between players in the tunnel at half-time. Asked about his confrontation with the Turkish defender Alpay, Beckham said: "He said something about my mother."
After the game, the England coach, Sven Goran Eriksson, again denied rumours he was leaving. Relations between the players and the Football Association remain tense after the team threatened to strike last week in support of Rio Ferdinand, left behind for failing to take a drugs test.
The FA will now tighten its procedures to ensure there can be no repetition of Ferdinand's "forgotten" test. The "man-marking" practised in Olympic sports is likely to be introduced, with an official assigned to each player so there is no possibility of his slipping away before giving a urine sample. But mitigating factors in the Ferdinand case, including the way previous offenders have been treated, may mean only a fine or minimal suspension after he appears before the FA's compliance unit tomorrow.
* Scotland beat Lithuania 1-0 to qualify for the play-offs as did Wales though beaten 3-2 by Serbia. But Ireland failed, losing 2-0 in Switzerland.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments