FIFA praises English fans for behaviour

Saturday, June 22, 2002
YOKOHAMA, Japan, June 22 (Reuters) - World soccer's governing body FIFA has praised England fans for their behaviour at the World Cup after preparations for the finals were dominated by worries about hooligans from the country.

'We always hear quickly enough and loudly enough when fans do not behave. So let's make plenty of noise this time that their behaviour has been perfect,' Lennart Johansson, the chairman of FIFA's World Cup organising committee said on Saturday. 

They've had a great tournament too (Reuters)

Johansson, who is also the president of European governing body UEFA, which had to deal with English hooliganism at Euro 2000, added: 'They showed that real football fans know how to enjoy the game, support their team, celebrate when they win and take defeat when they lose.'

Co-hosts Japan sent thousands of police to guard stadiums nationwide in a series of security measures aimed at stopping trouble. They were armed with the latest in anti-hooligan gear, including guns that fired nets over troublemakers. The fears had been fuelled by graphic video footage of England supporters running riot in Charleroi in Belgium during the European championship in 2000 and in Marseille at the 1998 World Cup in France.

But a British law preventing convicted hooligans from travelling to international games seemed to have an effect. There was no repeat during England's 2002 World Cup campaign, which ended with a 2-1 defeat by Brazil in Friday's quarter-final in Shizuoka, of the trouble in France four years.

'They also showed that the problems that occur at some football matches are caused not by fans but by troublemakers who are not interested in the game itself but just want to give a bad reputation to the genuine football lovers,' Johansson said. 'So thank you to those fans, especially from England, who have reasserted the positive image of our game but also to those from other countries who have helped make this such a wonderful World Cup.'

Hisa Miyatake, a spokesman for the Japanese organisers JAWOC, said he did not think the anti-hooligan measures had been excessive but added that a full evaluation of the organisation would be made after the World Cup final in Yokohama on June 30.

England skipper David Beckham also saluted the supporters. Around two thousand fans greeted the team when they arrived back at their Awaji Island headquarters following Saturday's 2-1 quarter-final defeat. It was a scene that had been repeated on may occasions during the tournament with England second only in popularity amongst to the host nation. Beckham said: 'The fans have been absolutely magnificent from the minute we arrived in Japan and we will never forget the support they have given us during this World Cup. 'Wherever we have travelled, they have been with us and we would also like to thank Japan as a nation for the way they have supported us. It has felt as if we have almost been the home team and it has been fantastic to walk out to every game and see the stadium filled with the red and white of England. 'Now they have turned out in many numbers to say farewell to us and once again I can only say thank you and they are big reason why many of us will be coming back here.'

England had only a brief stop-off at what has been their hideaway for the past month before heading to Osaka to fly back home.

Soccer's world governing body FIFA said on Saturday that a large number of people had telephoned its British-based ticket agent Byrom Plc after what it called 'misleading' statements on BBC television during the match broadcast about the size of the crowd at the Shizuoka game, which Brazil won 2-1. 

'The misleading statements by the BBC led to irate telephone calls to the ticket operators, which were unjustified,' FIFA communications director Keith Cooper told a news conference. 'There were 28 tickets not collected but all the other seats were occupied.'