FA may refuse tickets for Turkey visit

The football association is considering not taking up England's ticket allocation for October's Euro 2004 return against Turkey in Istanbul in an attempt to prevent crowd trouble.

More than 100 England fans were arrested before and after England's 2-0 victory over Turkey in Sunderland on Wednesday. As well as ill feeling on the pitch with unpleasant exchanges between players and staff at full-time, including a scuffle in the tunnel, off it there was racist chanting and fans invading the playing area after the goals.

With a history of bad blood between English and Turkish fans, started by the murder of two Leeds United supporters in Istanbul three years ago, the game in the same city on 11 October is likely to be highly explosive.

"Safety has to be paramount and we have to take the right decision," said an FA spokesman, Paul Barber. "If we consider that the best option is not to take tickets then that is something we will look at very seriously. Over the next couple of weeks we will be talking to all the agencies, the police, the Turkish FA, our own security people and working out what is the best possible decision."

The good news for England is that the Turkish Football Association have decided not to play the game in Galatasaray's notorious Ali Sami Yen stadium. The bad news is that they have chosen the equally intimidating ground of Fenerbahce instead.

The Turkish FA do not have to confirm the venue until 60 days before the game, but reports in the Istanbul media said the 50,000 capacity Sukru Saracoglu had been earmarked for the final game of Group Seven. That is likely to increase the chances of the FA refusing their ticket allocation.

The Turkey international Tugay Kerimoglu yesterday denied making death threats to David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand during Wednesday's game. According to a report Tugay had warned that the players would suffer when they travelled to Turkey, saying: "When Beckham and Ferdinand come to Istanbul they are going to die. You cannot imagine how horrible the things will be that will happen to you".

The Blackburn midfielder spoke to his club manager, Graeme Souness, about the allegation yesterday morning and said he made no such remark. There is a potentially troublesome game with Manchester United at Old Trafford in a fortnight and the focus will also be on him at Fulham in a live game on Monday.

Souness, who has worked with Tugay on and off since he managed Galatasaray, came out on the player's side yesterday. "I have spoken to him and he says he did not say that to either David Beckham or anyone else," Souness said. "There was an incident at the end of the match, involving someone else on the non-playing side of the Turkey team.

"I think the British public are aware of the accusations, but they also know they cannot always believe what they read in the papers. I am asking you to believe Tugay. You can't normally get two words out of him, he does his talking on the pitch. I don't see how it has become an issue when he has not said it. He will be upset if people believe it."

Tugay was also quoted in the Turkish press as saying that he helped calm Beckham down near the beginning of Wednesday's game. "Beckham was kicking and swearing," Tugay is reported as saying. "I went up to him and said 'all of Turkey is watching you. If you keep on kicking like that don't come to Istanbul, protect yourself.' After that he said 'OK' and didn't kick me again."