Surreal city where tickets are easy prey for the unwanted

Road to Euro 2004: British police advisers repeat warning against Turkey trip

You could not venture 100 yards from the media hotel here without the polite, but increasingly desperate, enquiry: "You want tickets for the game?" Rarely have so many Macedonian "Flashmans" found so few clients in the hours preceding an important international football match involving England.

For those of us who have observed England teams over the years there was a slightly surreal atmosphere in a city which has been designated a "we'd- prefer-you-not-to-go" area for travelling supporters. Though the English Football Association's decision not to allocate England's 2,500 tickets for last night's Euro 2004 qualifying game (they distributed them instead to needy Macedonian children) did not deter the dedicated follower, it was estimated that only 300 devotees had made the trip by Friday night. It was anticipated that the number would be swelled by a further 200 by the start of the match.

David Swift, deputy chief constable of Staffordshire Police, the most senior British officer of a delegation of 10 advising the Macedonians, who said that in a walkabout of the city he had been offered tickets himself, admitted: "I can't recall there ever being an England game in a foreign country with fewer individuals present from England."

With the concern that England could be ejected from the Euro 2004 tournament if there was any serious trouble, following problems during the Slovakia away match last October and at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland before the game against Turkey in April, the FA had emphasised that England fans should not travel. Their message will be the same next month, when England play the return in Turkey, an encounter which could prove to be the decider for first place in their group.

"Hopefully the next game in Turkey will follow along the same lines, and the 300 will heed the advice that Turkey is a completely different environment again, with a different set of circumstances," said Swift. "Macedonia and England don't have a history of competition, and it is not a matter of success or failure resting on the outcome."

He added: "My personal plea for those that are here today, and those who may be thinking about travelling to Turkey, is heed the advice of the Government and the FA, and don't travel there."

By yesterday morning there had been no arrests or a single incident reported to the Macedonian police that required their intervention. But would that continue to be the case, with the Macedonian authorities deciding to permit England fans who had bought tickets on the black market into last night's Euro 2004 qualifier, with no segregation? There were reports that some tickets were even available at the face value of around £6 from outlets which had obtained them from the Macedonian FA.

Certainly, the banning orders on more than 1,700 individuals, which prevent them leaving the country when England are playing abroad, appeared to have have had their desired effect. According to Swift, none had been picked up at the border checks, entering the country through Greece or Bulgaria.

Swift said that segregating the England fans from locals would not be possible, which meant they would be sitting among the Macedonians. There were no facilities for a separate "England zone" at the stadium. Asked if he was happy with that situation, he retorted: "Happy would not be an appropriate choice of word. I would rather they were in England. But the commander [of the Macedonian police] has seen no evidence why he should raise the temperature by placing the English fans in a special section. Yesterday, at the England Under-21 game, at another stadium, there were a few British people there and there were no flash-points or hostilities."

The Macedonian police deployed 1,500 officers, who, according to Swift, would be "tolerant and understanding, but prepared to act if necessary". He added: "I have been impressed with the professionalism of the Macedonian police, who have the capacity to deal with incidents as they occur.

"But fans were drinking alongside each other yesterday with no problems, so you ask yourself, why should there be an issue? Hopefully the people that have turned up are the people we would like to be associated with anyway."

Swift said the fact there were fewer than 300 supporters in the country represented a considerable success. "It does show that the advice of the Football Association and the Government has been substantially heeded," he said. "I can't recall there ever being an England game in a foreign country, regardless of how far away it was, with fewer individuals present from England."