Nyon (Switzerland), Oct 28: England and Turkey have been charged by European football's governing body UEFA with improper conduct for the Istanbul brawl in their Euro 2004 qualifier two weeks ago. But they are expected to escape a ban on playing at next year's finals in Portugal.
Uefa said yesterday that after reviewing video evidence and the referee's report no individual players would be charged.
The Turkish Football Association has already been charged with stadium security after flares were lit and missiles thown at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium during the 0-0 draw.
The 55,000 crowd was made up only of Turkish supporters with England fans barred from attending the game on safety grounds.
Uefa's control and disciplinary body will consider the charges on Thursday when both football associations are expected to be fined.



A mass brawl erupted between players and officials at half time after Turkey's Aston Villa defender Alpay poked England captain David Beckham in the face as the two sides went into the tunnel.



Italian referee Pierluigi Collina averted further problems when he took Beckham and Alpay into his changing room and told them to calm down.


Bureau Report