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L’ Inghilterra di Capello sembra davvero difficile da battere in questo periodo. Con la qualificazione alla Coppa del Mondo di Sud Africa 2010 virtualmente già ottenuta, i “bianchi” hanno saputo continuare la propria serie positiva anche in amichevole, rimontando due reti all’ Olanda sul campo di Amsterdam. Il pareggio è stato preceduto e seguito da incidenti tra sostenitori olandesi ed inglesi, con un bilancio di circa trenta arresti. I tifosi del Sunderland, accusati di avere aggredito la polizia al proprio passaggio dalla stazione di Newcastle, di rientro da una gara amichevole precampionato giocatasi in Scozia, rigettano le imputazione mosse dalle forze dell’ ordine alle quali imputano un comportamento troppo rigido causa di qualche attimo di tensione.
Mixed emotions for Capello
England coach Fabio Capello insists he spoke quietly to his players after a shambolic first 45 minutes in Amsterdam – the Italian will keep his powder dry for more significant days than this.
“The trademark iron mask slipped as he generously blamed two crass errors from Rio Ferdinand and Gareth Barry that gifted the Netherlands a two-goal lead on lingering pre-season rust.It is unlikely Capello will be so forgiving if lapses are repeated as the countdown continues towards what England captain John Terry is convinced will be a serious assault on the World Cup in South Africa next summer.As Capello rightly stated, it is better to distribute the presents in a friendly rather than in a World Cup encounter, when they could prove fatal, but the lessons must still be learned.Capello’s forgiving mood would have been helped by a second half full of spirit and encouraging cameos – with Jermain Defoe taking top honours with two goals to equalise goals from Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart.
And his claim about pre-season cobwebs causing England’s lapses had some basis in logic, given the unusual timing of this friendly just days before the start of the Premier League campaign.All criticism of England’s performance must be placed in the context that this was effectively the end of pre-season preparations for many players.If that harrowing first half in the Amsterdam ArenA served a purpose, it was to deliver a timely warning that England cannot make a difficult job potentially impossible by gifting possession to teams as technically gifted as the Dutch – especially 20 yards from their own goalFerdinand and Barry have been two of England’s most reliable performers and men Capello may count on heavily in South Africa, and he will remain confident these were one-off aberrations.
Steven Gerrard will be back after injury and the performance of Defoe, as well as Carlton Cole and James Milner when they were introduced, suggests a dogfight for places on the plane to South Africa will ensue as the season progressesThe downside was that England looked pedestrian and technically inferior to the Dutch in the first half – the pluses all came after the breakDefoe’s introduction was electrifying, streaking clear to score after 49 minutes and providing a poacher’s finish for the equaliser 13 minutes from the end of an entertaining encounter.He looked busy throughout, flashing a header just over from Milner’s cross, and may just have pushed Michael Owen’s hopes of an international recall further into the distanceOwen will want to use his new Manchester United career as a launchpad for the revival of his England ambitions, but Defoe has stated his case and it is clear that Capello is an huge admirerMilner was another to create a favourable impression with a marauding performance on the left that troubled John Heitinga, making more of an impact than his Villa colleague Ashley Young.Carlton Cole, an enigmatic figure for much of his career, also suggested he is finally becoming the finished article under the tutelage of Gianfranco Zola at West Ham with a lively performance as replacement for Wayne RooneyIt all made for a sympathetic Capello as he starts this vital 12 months – but his air of authority ensures England’s players will know such carelessness will not be tolerated in the future.”
( BBC Sport )
RIOT police arrested 15 football fans following clashes ahead of England’s friendly with Holland last night
The Sun
13 August 2009
Cops on horseback surrounded a group of English fans in Amsterdam’s Dam Square to prevent a mass brawl.The supporters were searched and photographed. There were no reports of injuries.Amsterdam Mayor Lodewijk van Asscher said: “We have information there’s a threat that Ajax supporters want to fight English fans.”A hardcore of other clubs in the Netherlands, Belgium and England plan to come to Amsterdam to misbehave.”UK cops are in Amsterdam to spot hooligans among the estimated 7,000 fans travelling.The Home Office said ports were being monitored to spot any of the 3,129 fans banned from travelling abroad.
Police bid for football ban order
BBC News
12 August 2009
Police in Essex are applying for a football banning order after a man was stopped trying to leave the UK ahead of the Netherlands-England match.
The 27-year-old man, who is from east London, was stopped by officers at Stansted Airport.A hearing is due to take place at Harlow Magistrates’ Court.Officers have stepped up checks at Stansted and at the ferry terminal in Harwich ahead of the match in Amsterdam later, police said.Football banning orders can last between two and 10 years, and the precise conditions can be tailored on a case-by-case basis.
Fifteen Fans Arrested Ahead Of England Game
Sky News
12 August 2009
Fifteen people have been arrested in central Amsterdam after riot police broke up a fight between English and Dutch football fans.
The brawl took place hours before the two teams kicked off in an international friendly.An Amsterdam police spokesman said there were no reports of serious injuries following the incident, but added that the force had clashed with various groups.A news agency photographer on the scene said police on horseback had contained a group of English football supporters on Amsterdam’s central Dam square, adjacent to the red light district.All the supporters were searched for weapons, then photographed and filmed before being released.Several British police were also present on the square to assist the local police.Authorities in the city had been on high alert for possible violence between the supporters ahead of the match.
Former football hooligans regroup in far-Right Casuals United
The Times
13 August 2009
Russell Jenkins
They see themselves as the vanguard in a battle for the soul of Britain against extremist Islamist forces — the “enemy within” bent on imposing Sharia. Casuals United announced their arrival on Saturday when a small army of shirt-sleeved, middle-aged men with beer bellies clashed in a flurry of punches and kicks with young Asians in Birmingham city centre.The group, which is closely affiliated with the far-right English Defence League, insists that it is a peaceful movement representing ordinary working people angered by the sight of Muslims hurling insults at British soldiers on homecoming parades. But if the chants of “England, England” and the aggressive posturing appear familiar, it is because they are.
The members of Casuals United are largely former football hooligans drawn from the terraces and, according to their critics, are essentially the BNP and National Front repackaged. The groupings have attracted the support of BNP activists including Chris Renton, who created the English Defence League website.
Jeff Marsh, the leader of Casuals United, told The Times that the organisation was a “mixed-race group of English people, from businessmen and women, to football hooligans”.He said: “I came up with the idea to unite football fans to forget their petty rivalries and come together in a national movement. There are a lot of people in their forties and fifties who used to be hooligans but went on to settle down. A lot of young football fans want to get involved.”Mr Marsh, who holds a degree in criminal justice, claims to have support among serving soldiers and points to the activities of army wives on the website Armchair Warriors. “Their men can’t be seen to be supporting us directly,” he said.The new beast on the far Right came to prominence when its members clashed with anti-fascist protesters in Birmingham on Saturday. Police made 30 arrests and are still studying closed-circuit television footage.
According to the anti-fascist group Searchlight, Casuals United was created after the trouble in March when Islamists demonstrated against troops returning from Afghanistan to Luton. Two months later, members of Casuals United marched through the town and last month they picketed an Islamic roadshow in North London.Mr Marsh, 44, whose book The Trouble with Taffies is an account of football violence in South Wales, confirmed that the Luton parade had been the catalyst. He said that a generation of former football hooligans were stirred to action by the sight of Muslim extremists abusing the men of the Royal Anglian Regiment.After the group was outnumbered by United Against Fascism in Birmingham on Saturday, Mr Marsh pledged that it would return to the city on August 30. The group is also planning a protest in Manchester in October.
The Casuals make full use of modern communications, using social networking websites, notably Facebook, where there are about 40 branches, many of which declare allegiance to various football clubs. The Arsenal branch sums up the group’s manifesto, saying that it was formed to “protest peacefully against the Government allowing Islamic Hatemongers to live in our country while raising money for terror abroad, cursing our soldiers and trying to force Sharia law on us”.Gerry Gable, of Searchlight, said: “We predicted real trouble in Birmingham. They are not a non-violent group. They have been involved in trouble in Luton. There are connections between people who run far-right websites and we know the BNP were actively offering to find them people for both Birmingham and for [a demonstration] in Luton on August Bank Holiday”.Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of the United Against Fascism group, said: “Nobody should be taken in by the pretence that these marches and rallies are not aimed at whipping up race hatred against Muslims and Asians. They are racist demos and we should not allow them to take place.”
Sunderland fans’ fury at hooligan attack reports [VIDEO]
Shields Gazette
12 August 2009
SUNDERLAND fans have reacted with fury after police accused a 40-strong group of assaulting officers and dogs.
Three supporters were hospitalised after trouble flared on the way home from a friendly match with Scottish team Hearts, on Saturday.The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the incident, which happened at Newcastle Central Station at about 8pm.Northumbria Police said four police dogs were injured by fans intent on causing trouble, and vowed to track down those responsible and to get them banned from football ground.But many Black Cats supporters have accused officers of sparking the incident, with some submitting complaints and taking legal action.And the Football Supp-orters’ Federation has offered assistance and advice to Black Cats fans involved in the station incident.Chairman Malcolm Clarke said: “The FSF is very concerned to learn of
these events, and note that there are discrepancies between the accounts from many supporters and the police statement of what occurred.
“It is essential that there is a full, independent investigation into what happened.”Police said the injuries suffered by the fans who needed hospital treatment were “not thought to be serious”.But self-employed joiner Allan Brown fears he may be off work for months with injuries, he says, were caused by an officer’s baton.The 31-year-old, from Seaham, said he was kept in hospital overnight and has been left with an eight inch and a seven inch wound on his head.Mr Brown said he was consulting with a solicitor about suing for compensation.Chief Superintendent Graham Smith, Newcastle Area Commander, said: “We will not tolerate an assault on any of our officers or our dogs.”
Police and fans clash at station
BBC News
12 August 2009
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is deciding if it will investigate after football fans and officers clashed in Newcastle.Northumbria Police said four dogs were hurt in the incident at Central Station, which involved known hooligans travelling with Sunderland supporters.Some fans accused officers of being heavy handed and three were injured.But the Northumbria force said it was the behaviour of supporters which had forced them to take such action.A spokesman said police had intelligence that hooligans from Newcastle and Sunderland had arranged to meet on Saturday evening after the friendly match in Scotland, which was why officers were present at the station.The force said the Newcastle group was contained outside the station and there was no contact between the two.
Batons drawn
The IPCC said it had received a mandatory referral from Northumbria Police as a result of people being injured.Amanda Jacks, of the Football Supporters’ Federation, said: “I have received about a dozen written statements from both Sunderland supporters and members of the public.”To the best of my knowledge the supporters who have contacted me have done so independently of each other, and their reports are broadly consistent with each other.”Ch Supt Graham Smith said that fans’ behaviour had forced officers to react.He added: “Batons were not drawn until the unprovoked attacks occurred against dogs and dog handlers.”At that point officers in support drew batons to deal with the disorder.”