London, Sept 08: Macedonia's Artim Sakiri claims the death threats David Beckham complained about after England scraped a 2-1 Euro 2004 win in Skopje on Saturday were part and parcel of the game.
Beckham said the midfielder told him during Saturday's 2-1 win in Skopje: "You won't get out of here alive."
The England captain also claimed he and other players were spat at, while before the kick-off home fans burned an English flag on the terraces. But Sakiri insists there was no danger to the England players in the hostile atmosphere.

"People say things like `I'll kill you' during the games, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen," he told the Daily Mirror. "Did anything happen to Beckham? Did he die?"
Sakiri said swearing and threatening happened all the time in the English premiership. "Players in England swear all the time during matches - every second word is a swear word," he said.



The Macedonian refused to discuss his dispute with Beckham at the final whistle, but insisted he was trying to congratulate the Real Madrid man.



"I just wanted to congratulate England on their victory. I didn't manage to talk to Beckham after the game and I don't want to talk to him now," he said.



Sakiri, harshly denied a goal for off-side, added that a repeat performance for England against Turkey in Istanbul would fall well short of the mark.



"If England repeat their performance then they will lose 5-0 to Turkey," he said.


Bureau Report