Triesman demands life bans for Campbell abusers

Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has called on Tottenham to issue life bans to the fans who verbally abused Sol Campbell at Portsmouth.

Triesman has also revealed he will be meeting Fifa president Sepp Blatter following the racist chants directed at Emile Heskey when England met Croatia last month.

In a wide-ranging and hard-hitting keynote speech at the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge, Triesman, a lifelong Spurs fan, chose racism as one of his main topics.

He insisted it was imperative that action be taken against supporters who shouted obscenities at Campbell when Spurs met Pompey at Fratton Park nine days ago.

Campbell walked out on Spurs in 2001 to join Arsenal, despite assurances that he would never move to the other half of north London.

He subsequently moved on to Portsmouth but Triesman insisted there was no excuse for the vile abuse directed at the former England defender.

"I abhor the treatment of Sol Campbell by supporters of a club that I have loved and supported all my life," he said.

"I hope the individuals will be identified and, if appropriate, banned from Tottenham's ground."

He later added: "The supporters responsible have let their club down in a way that is totally unacceptable. I wouldn't have them in the ground again."

Triesman also revealed he would be speaking with Blatter about the £15,000 fine meted out to Croatia following last month's World Cup qualifier in Zagreb.

"I intend to seek an early meeting with Sepp Blatter to discuss the response to racism," said Triesman.

Later, he told journalists he wanted to meet Blatter to ensure that, in future, the punishment fitted the crime whenever racism occurred.

"I want to make sure that the response to instances of racist abuse are dealt with fully and effectively," he said.

"Fifa imposes its own fines and takes its own decisions, but we'd meet our obligations to players who are either black or from a different religious group if we make sure at international level we all understand the seriousness of racism to the same extent.

"It will be helpful for me to have a discussion about the way Fifa deals with racism."