THE INDEPENDENT THE INDEPENDENT 68/Sport/Football WEDNESDAY 16 MAY 2012 WEDNESDAY 16 MAY 2012 Football/Sport/69 Celtic cousins join RACE WARS ABUSE FOR ENGLISH PLAYERS With Neville in the camp, forces in hope of 12 Oct 2002, Slovakia v England investigated racist chants aimed Ashley Cole and Emile Heskey at England’s Nedum Onuoha, were targeted by Slovakian fans while Justin Hoyte was also England’s players should hosting Euro 2020 during the Euro 2004 qualifier in targeted by an opposition player Bratislava, leading to the Slovakian in the tunnel after the match. ambassador formally apologising not fall prey to indifference to the Football Association. “To 10 Sept 2008, Croatia v England By ROBIN SCOTT-ELLIOT ing patience with Turkey due to the have the whole stadium shouting Fifa fined the Croatian Federation chaos in the football there. The at you and making those gestures £15,000 after monkey chants Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Olympic clash does not help either so was frightening,” Heskey said. were aimed at Heskey in a World Ireland are set to mount a joint bid to this could be good news for Scotland, Cup qualifier in Zagreb. COMMENT host Euro 2020. Turkey and Georgia Wales and Ireland if they were to 17 Nov 2004, Spain v England are the other predicted bidders and proceed with a bid.” Shaun Wright-Phillips and Cole 10 Oct 2009, Ukraine v England JAMES as both countries have potentially Uefa are keen to encourage a Celtic were subjected to monkey chants Visiting players complained of LAWTON serious flaws as prospective hosts, the bid, especially as Georgia are expect- in a friendly held at the Bernabeu. racist chanting during the World Chief Sports Celtic nations will stand a good chance ed to struggle to match the stadium Fifa later fined the Spanish Foot- Cup qualifier in Dnipropetrovsk. Writer should they decide to translate a dec- criteria, as the governing body want ball Federation a paltry £44,750. laration of interest into a concrete bid. to oversee a contest for their flagship 2 Sept 2011, Bulgaria v England Last night was the deadline for international event. France will host 17 June 2007, Eng U21 v Serbia U21 The Bulgarian FA was fined We can be cynical as easily as we countries to register an interest in the 2016 finals, but none of the other The FA made a formal complaint £32,000 following abuse directed like over the fast-tracking of Gary hosting the finals, which would be major European nations have ex- over the racist abuse from towards Ashley Young during a Neville into the hierarchy of the the first in the United Kingdom for pressed an interest. England, Ger- Serbian fans and players. Uefa Euro 2012 qualifier in Sofia. England team. We can ask if, for 24 years. Interested countries now many and Spain have ruled them- example, you were the new man- selves out and Russia is holding the ager Roy Hodgson, would you “Many in Uefa are 2018 World Cup. Hosting a 24-team rather have Red Nev at your side in losing patience with tournament is beyond most nations the potential maelstrom of the on their own. European Championship – or lurk- Turkey... the Olympic Scotland and Ireland mounted a ing in a TV studio dreaming up the clash does not help” joint bid for Euro 2008 but disagree- kind of line that hit David Luiz like ments over the potential use of Croke an assassin’s bullet? have 18 months to table an actual bid, Park fatally undermined it and it was Comparing the Chelsea which would need 10 stadiums to host one of the first to be crossed off the defender’s work with the meander- the 24-team finals. The expanded list. Scotland and Wales thought about ings of a schoolboy let loose on a finals require all three to bid togeth- bidding together for 2016 but the PlayStation was a barb Neville may er to meet the stadium criteria. project never got off the ground. never surpass in the rest of his It would be the first time a major Jonathan Ford, the chief executive broadcasting career but Hodgson, finals has been hosted by three na- of the Football Association of Wales, who is already on record with his tions but the bid is likely to garner said: “It is not a bid, it’s a declaration belief that having the media on- strong support if Turkey and Georgia of interest and that will allow us to side is a key part of the job, may remain the only other entrants. obtain the information from Uefa so well be happy not to run the risk. Turkey, which had previously re- that we can fully assess and deter- However, even in an age when ceived public backing from Michel mine, independently and together, the massaging of popular opinion Platini, the president of Uefa, is whether we should submit a bid.” has reached industrial levels, there believed to have lost a degree of The three associations will now are enough reasons to believe that support recently over a match-fixing begin exploring the detail with pos- Neville’s long-term appointment is scandal that continues to bedevil the sible venues in Dublin, Cardiff, Ashley Young suffered abuse during rooted in something other than a Turkish FA. Istanbul is also bidding Swansea, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the match against Bulgaria GETTY craven reaction to the former Gary Neville was part of the false dawn of the Golden Generation GETTY for the 2020 Olympic Games and Aberdeen. Manchester United captain’s neither Uefa nor the International Ireland are competing at Euro 2012 remarkable rise as one of the he often feels obliged to level at a Eriksson might just have found the Olympic Committee believe a coun- this summer, but Scotland have not game’s most influential voices. new generation of defenders. lost chord of the English game. try can host both. qualified for a major finals since the The most arresting of them is An early job description for him A few years later he witnessed A senior Uefa official told the Press 1998 World Cup in France. Wales have the possibility that after a club is that he will be Hodgson’s most the full wretched circle in the Association: “Many in Uefa are los- to go back to the World Cup of 1958. qualification from the competition”. over his forthcoming trial for alleged- career that brought him eight acute reader of the mood of the celebrity circus of Baden-Baden, Any player found guilty of abusing an ly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. Premier League titles and a England dressing room – a role when old club-mate David FA fears that England opponent faces a minimum of a five- “We got it spot on,” said Bernstein, Champions League medal, and that might have been weighed in Beckham handed back, tearfully match ban. who made the decision with the unan- one with England that he has al- gold two years ago on the high and unbidden, the England Spurs’ Kaboul ruled England players have been on the imous support of the FA’s board. “There ready described as the last word in captaincy. receiving end of racist abuse during was no point in making a premature futility, he will be ideally placed to He will be Hodgson’s Neville may then have reflected out of France squad players will be racially previous visits to eastern Europe. Last decision because we believed the trials draw from the strength of one side most acute reader of on the time he made his own run year the Bulgarian FA was fined €40,000 would be before the European Cham- of his experience and transfer at for player power while organising a after Ashley Young, Ashley Cole and pionship.” least some of it to the other. the mood of the Eng- strike threat on behalf of Rio By JAMES MARINER Larsson, of Sunderland. Manchester Theo Walcott were abused by the home Yesterday’s inquiry also focused on Encouragement to believe this is land dressing room Ferdinand after he was dropped City striker John Guidetti was omit- abused at the Euros support. the problem of racism within the do- certainly not diluted by even the from the national team while The Tottenham Hotspur defender ted because of a thigh injury. “I’m Uefa has been criticised for its re- mestic game. After the ban for Liver- most casual review of his perform- veldt when Fabio Capello and his awaiting a disciplinary hearing for Younès Kaboul will miss next month’s terribly disappointed,” the 20-year- sponse to previous racist incidents . pool’s Luis Suarez and the on-going ance since putting aside his boots players engaged in a cultural failing to take a drugs test. European Championship after being old said. “The Euros were the big goal Bernstein promised by 2012. Last week the UK’s senior police- Uefa insists it is taking steps to Earlier this season Manchester City Terry/Anton Ferdinand case, Taylor be- and taking up the microphone. collision so catastrophic that the It will be some time before we left out of the provisional France and it’s sad not to get that chance.” man in charge of footballing matters, address the issue ahead of the tourna- were fined €30,000 because their play- lieves young black players are wary of Whether you agree with every- manager later confessed that when know the value of Neville’s squad because of a knee injury. Vicente del Bosque has named an Platini that referees will Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt, ment, which begins on 8 June.