Cup ties face the threat of violence

FOOTBALL

The potentially inflammatory nature of two FA Cup fifth-round ties, today and tomorrow, means the English game will be holding its breath the entire weekend in the hope that there is no repetition of the crowd violence in Dublin on Wednesday which again sullied its reputation in the eyes of the world.

Millwall head for Shepherd's Bush and their game with Queen's Park Rangers today amid rumours that Chelsea fans are bent on causing trouble for the club who defeated them in the previous round and with the admonishment from Superintendent Paul Lally, the man in charge of policing, that Millwall fans' reputation for hooliganism is "well deserved". Twenty-four hours later Leeds travel across the Pennines to play Manchester United at Old Trafford against a background of bitter hostility between the two clubs' sets of supporters over the years and further threats of premeditated violence.

"I can't try to play it down," Supt Lally said in regard to the London derby. "This is not a game to be controlled by a couple of boy scouts and a brownie pack. I dare say Chelsea fans will make an appearance - they don't have a game - but we're confident our intelligence unit, with help from those of Fulham [who cover Chelsea] and Lewisham will pick out many of the troublemakers as soon as they arrive.

"If anything the disturbances in Dublin are likely to keep many of the hooligans away. If football violence has a high profile it means the courts are inclined to take a more serious view."

With an allocation of only 3,000 tickets, Millwall are relaying the match live to the New Den, but Supt Lally expects the unruly supporters to travel. "Millwall's reputation for trouble is well deserved - there's no doubt about that. If they're losing they are always liable to start a pitch invasion. We're well aware of that tactic."

Millwall, who were innocent bystanders amid deplorable scenes at Stamford Bridge 11 days ago, are confident that their tickets have only been sold to their members. "With so few available I can't think of a way Chelsea supporters could get their hands on any. Those who do are more likely to be supporting QPR than causing mayhem in the Millwall end. The two clubs' sets of supporters often team up. We don't anticipate trouble but we're prepared for it."

Policing levels have been increased by 50 per cent to 300 officers partly as a "reassurance factor" after the troubles in Dublin. The game, which will be refereed by Philip Don, a strict disciplinarian, has attracted interest on the Continent; the Dutch, not without a long history of crowd violence themselves, are installing their own television cameras at Loftus Road.

At least the absence of the suspended Eric Cantona at Old Trafford has removed one blue touchpaper from that particular tie. Crowd conduct at matches between his past and present clubs has been much improved in recent years and yesterday Bill Fotherby, the Leeds managing director, pleaded with both sets of supporters to be on their best behaviour. "It's a showpiece in prospect," he said. "Let's make sure it turns out that way."

Just to be on the safe side, Leeds will be taking a coach-load of their own stewards to Manchester to vet their fans at the turnstiles. "We could have sold our ticket allocation of 6,500 many times over but they were restricted to members who know that if they misbehave they will have their membership taken away," Nigel Pleasants, the Leeds secretary, said. "There's a lot of rivalry between the clubs but we haven't had any problems in recent years, even when we played them three times in 10 days in 1992."

Though the Football Association reacted cautiously to Jack Charlton's suggestion that last Wednesday's abandoned international between the Republic of Ireland and England should be replayed, it has not ruled out a rematch in Dublin before the summer. "We've not ruled it out at all," an FA spokesperson said, "but two days after the game, when we're still trying to work out what went wrong, is just too early to start rearranging fixtures." The FA announced that it would award caps for the game even though it lasted only 27 minutes.

The FA is still considering a report from a staff member regarding allegations of an assault by Vinnie Jones on a journalist in Dublin; Jones has admitted biting the man's nose "as a joke". His explanation has been accepted by the Wimbledon owner, Sam Hammam, and the player will not be disciplined by his club. Hammam dismissed it as "a small matter."

Meanwhile, Macedonia's national team lost its appeal yesterday against an order from Uefa, the sport's European governing body, to play their next two home games behind closed doors. The punishment was imposed for bad behaviour by fans during a European Championship qualifying match against Cyprus in Skopje in December which Macedonia won 3-0. Celebrating supporters threw fireworks into neighboring sectors of the stadium, injuring an official from the Cypriot delegation.

Uefa also rejected an appeal by Napoli against playing their next European match behind closed doors. Napoli fans threw bottles and stones on the pitch after losing 1-0 in a Uefa Cup tie at Eintracht Frankfurt on 7 December. The punishment will not apply this season as Napoli are now out of the tournament.

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