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FA blames Italians for crowd trouble
LONDON (AP) -- England's Football Association blamed Italian authorities Friday for the disturbances at the Italy-England World Cup soccer qualifier in Rome, accusing police of deliberate intimidation and provocation of English fans."All the evidence indicates there was a considerable degree of inefficiency, brutality, possibly pre-medidated, and serious provocation," FA chief executive Graham Kelly said. "It was quite staggering and very much unforeseen."
Clashes between English fans and Italian police took place before, during and after the Oct. 11 game at Rome's Olympic Stadium. Millions of television viewers saw baton-wielding police charging and beating fans during the game.
The match ended in a 0-0 tie, allowing England to qualify for next year's World Cup in France. Italy faces a two-leg playoff against Russia for a berth in the finals.
The Italians have put most of the blame on drunken English hooligans who had already caused trouble in the center of Rome in the hours before the game. But the FA said the disturbances were due to poor stadium management and heavy-handed police tactics.
"The FA believes the overwhelming majority of England supporters conducted themselves with great restraint on the night of Oct. 11," the association said in a 50-page report based on testimony from nearly 1,500 English fans.
"This happened despite what would appear to have been deliberate intimidation, and sometimes extreme provocation, on the part of some of those responsible for their safety and security while on foreign soil."
The report said English fans were subjected to "a lack of organization and ill-discipline, at worst brutal treatment by elements of the police authorities."
The FA did concede that not all English fans behaved well, but played down this aspect.
FA spokesman David Davies said it was up to the world governing body FIFA to prepare an independent report on the trouble.
FIFA said it was asking Italy to sumbmit its version of events by Saturday. After reviewing the reports, FIFA could take action against Italy, with a fine the most likely punishment.
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