England's embattled footballers arrived in Turkey on Thursday for today's decisive Euro 2004 qualifier against the World Cup semifinalists.
The England squad, including captain David Beckham, flew in to Istanbul airport, leaving behind a storm of criticism over their threat to boycott the fixture.
British newspapers were vociferous in their condemnation of the players, who had voted to go on strike after defender Rio Ferdinand was omitted from the squad after he failed to attend a drugs test last month.
PHOTO: AFP
They reversed their decision on Wednesday after a day of tense talks at their training base.
On arrival in Istanbul, a group of around 100 Turkish fans chanted: "This is Turkey. There is no way out," as the players emerged from the airport while police linked hands to prevent any confrontations.
The tightest security was reserved for Beckham, whose arrival was greeted with a mixture of cheering and booing.
His bodyguards blocked a young girl seeking an autograph from approaching the midfielder but Beckham later relented and she was brought over to the England team coach to meet him.
Student Mehmet Sen, 21, brought a bouquet of red and white flowers to give to the England squad.
"I have brought these flowers to show the English they have nothing to fear and that the game should be played in a gentlemanly fashion," he said.
Security concerns have raised the stakes after a history of trouble between fans from the two countries. England have warned their supporters to stay away for fear that more crowd trouble could lead to a UEFA ban.
Turkish passport officials earlier turned back two England fans who were apparently hoping to see the game. It was not clear whether they were on a list of more than 1,000 known troublemakers provided to local authorities by British police.
Fearing any UEFA sanction itself, Turkey's Football Federation has warned fans that bad behavior at the match will be punished.
The federation said police would confiscate any objects that could be used as projectiles, ranging from mobile phones and cigarette lighters to bottles and umbrellas.
England, who top Group Seven with 19 points, must avoid defeat in Istanbul to qualify automatically for next year's finals in Portugal.
Turkey must win if they are to avoid having to qualify through next month's playoffs.
British ice dance greats Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean returned to the rink where their remarkable journey began to help launch the first Synchro9 World Championships, bringing a new Olympic discipline to the city that shaped their careers. The inaugural championships take place from March 27 to April 4 at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, the rink where Torvill and Dean teamed up as teenagers and where they performed their final show in July last year after skating together for 50 years. “For us, this is where it all started,” Dean said. “A lot of the skaters will start their Olympic journey out of
Influencers and content creators armed with smartphones and ring lights have featured prominently in the stands at this year’s US Open, as they try to grab the spotlight away from the on-court action at one of tennis’ marquee events. About 100 content creators were given credentials for the tournament, organizers said, with 20 of those dedicated to providing coverage of the food and beverage scene alone, where caviar-topped chicken nuggets and the famed “Honey Deuce” cocktail promise viral attention. Thousands more amateur social media hounds could be found throughout the plaza and in the stands — after shelling out for their own
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were dealt their first losses in their domestic leagues on Friday when Kylian Mbappe had an injury-time penalty saved in La Liga and PSG coughed up a lead in Ligue 1. Madrid fell at Real Betis 1-0 for its first defeat since the return of coach Jose Mourinho. PSG fell at home to Monaco 2-1 on the same day that coach Luis Enrique agreed to stay at the European champion through 2030. Betis stunned Madrid when newcomer Troy Parrott, an Irish striker, knocked in a ball that Thibaut Courtois did well to save from a header by
BATTLING GREATS: The Williams sisters had the crowd behind them in New York in a marathon match against Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint on Friday Two-time women’s doubles champions Venus Williams and Serena Williams rolled back the years on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open on Friday, but the sisters were unable to get past Australia’s Maya Joint and Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching, losing 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(10-7). The Williams’ duo had showed flashes of their brilliant best after recovering from losing the first set to level the match after taking the second set on a tie-break. Momentum and a raucous New York crowd appeared to be carrying them towards victory after they sprinted into a 5-0 lead in the third set tie-break. Chan and Joint fought back
RSS