Houllier makes case for the defence of 'quiet' Heskey

The fall-out from Saturday's tunnel fracas in Istanbul continued yesterday with Uefa, European football's governing body, requesting statements from the English and Turkish Football Associations, Gérard Houllier defending Emile Heskey's involvement, and Alpay Ozalan facing international omission for provoking it.

Uefa's disciplinary committee, which is already studying video evidence from the European Championship qualifier and the reports of both the referee and the match observer, is investigating the behaviour of players both on the pitch and in the tunnel. Judgement will be passed on 30 October. A spokesman for the Football Association said: "We will give our full co-operation to Uefa's request."

If charges are brought, sanctions could range from fines to suspensions, and Uefa has refused to rule anything out. However, it seems that suspensions are unlikely as the video evidence is largely inconclusive. In addition, one element it does show clearly is the presence of Pierluigi Collina, the referee, who dealt with the issue promptly. The fight appears to have been little worse than that during half-time at the Uefa Cup final between Celtic and Porto last season, after which no disciplinary action was taken.

The one England player at risk is Heskey, who is seen lashing out on the video. It is not clear whom he is aiming at, though the latest reports suggest Hasan Sas, the Turkish international who was not playing in the game, may have spat at Ashley Cole and that sparked Heskey's reaction. Heskey did not appear to make contact.

Yesterday, Houllier, the Liverpool manager, defended his club player. "If Emile reacted, it must have been something very serious, whether against him or one of his team-mates," he said. "Emile is not the sort of person that reacts. He is a very quiet man."

It has been suggested that there could have been a racial element to the furore, but Houllier said: "I have talked to him about it and he has told me what happened, but I will not say because there is an inquiry. I don't know whether this is linked to racism ... but if Emile reacted it must have been something extremely serious."

Alpay is the most likely Turkish player to be censured, primarily for his behaviour on the pitch. Yesterday, Senol Gunes, the Turkey coach, said he was considering leaving Alpay out of the play-offs because of the furore which has developed around him. This seemed more a pragmatic decision than a disciplinary one.

It will not help his cause with Gunes that he is unlikely to be playing for Villa after a drop in form at club level. Alpay is due back in training today, after being given an extra day off, during which hefound time to give his website a memorable description of the meeting with David Beckham in Collina's room. "He [Collina] made us shake hands and then hug each other," Alpay wrote. "Then he told us we were too hot and needed to calm down. He made us drink a glass of water before we could leave. He was sweating so much himself, all I could see was steam rising off his bald head as if he were on fire."

Hertha Berlin are thought to have reawakened their interest in Alpay, who lost favour with Villa fans when he asked for a transfer in the summer of 2002.

On a slightly more positive disciplinary note, Arsenal have made it to the top of the Premier League's Fair Play League.

Their success seems extraordinary given that six players are facing misconduct charges after the scenes at Old Trafford, that the club has been charged with failing to control its players, and that Sol Campbell was fined last week for retaliating against Eric Djemba-Djemba in the Community Shield.

But a Premier League spokesman confirmed the table was correct. "The Fair Play League is judged on a number of Uefa-set criteria other than red or yellow cards, for example, positive play."