From Rio to Istanbul: the inside story of England's élite and the strike that never was

Getting on to the pitch must have been a relief even if the stadium was as welcoming as Hell. By the time they kicked off, the England players had been through an unprecedented rebellion, heard rumours the coach was about to quit and learned of the arrest of two fellow Premiership players on suspicion of rape. They wore the three lions on their shirts as representatives of a national game riven by scandal, having been branded "obscenely overpaid turkeys" and "traitors" by the press back home.

David Beckham, the captain, was said to have fallen out with his best friend Gary Neville - who had led the rebellion after Rio Ferdinand was left behind in England for failing to take a drugs test. Beckham left Manchester United after a row with his manager and mentor Sir Alex Ferguson - the Scot whose intervention raised the stakes dramatically in the dispute between the players and the English Football Association.

His influence can now be revealed in detail for the first time. After dinner last Tuesday evening, Sir Alex was telephoned at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, by Gary Neville, one of his players. Ferguson had known and nurtured Neville since he was a boy. It was a remarkable call. Neville - speaking, he believed, on behalf of all 24 members of the squad - wanted advice. The players, he told Sir Alex, had agreed to meet together for the first time, alone, since they had assembled at the Sopwell House Hotel in Hertfordshire earlier that day. They were to decide what to do about the exclusion of Rio. Sir Alex, no fan of the FA, was clear. Angry himself over the treatment of his player he told Neville to be tough. Be, in his opinion, principled.

It was typical Ferguson. At once protective and aggressive. The patriarch and the Govan shop steward. He had been here before on the international stage. Just ask the Irish. Many around the Football Association of Ireland, including players, ultimately blame the influence of Sir Alex for Roy Keane's departure from last year's World Cup. Niall Quinn, a member of that squad, has complained bitterly of his "helicoptering" in to pass judgment on Irish affairs. It is a widely held view.

Neville, the Professional Footballers' Association representative at Man Utd and a member of its executive committee, was emboldened. He had already had meetings with Paul Barber, the FA's director of marketing and communications, and talks had been held with Mark Palios, the FA's new chief executive. Neville, along with his brother Phil and the other two Man Utd players, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, had been joined by the players' council of David Beckham, Michael Owen, David James and Sol Campbell. The presence of all the Man Utd players adds credibility to the claim that the club was prepared to withdraw its contingent.

The players did not like what they were told. The FA would not back down. Ferdinand would not be reinstated. Angered more than ever this group of eight - with varying degrees of zeal - then canvassed the rest of the squad. Discussions were held in smaller groups up and down the players' corridor at the five-star country house hotel in Hertfordshire. It had a hothouse effect. Some believed Gary Neville was starting to take things too far. But they knew they had to keep a united front - as much for their own esteem within the peer group as anything else. Front is everything in football.

After the call to Ferguson, Neville addressed all the players. No representative from the FA was present. Despite the appearance of solidarity it was not an easy meeting. Crucially, Beckham did not take the lead. He was, it seemed, growing uneasy about the whole affair. Maybe he had realised, or his advisers had realised, the damage that was being done both to England and David Beckham Inc. Maybe he simply felt unfettered because he no longer played for Man Utd.

Paul Scholes also said little, although there was nothing unusual in that, and it was left to James, the oldest present, to try and summarise the situation. Some players sat bemused, they wanted to play; others looked somewhatless than interested. Nevertheless a ballot - a show of hands - was held. It was unanimous although exactly what they were voting on was unclear. Some felt it was simply a protest vote, others felt they were being given a mandate to threaten the FA with everything, which included not going to Turkey. To strike.

The initiative was seized. Soon the late editions of Wednesday's newspapers were rolling with the strike story, leaked by the players themselves in an effort to force the issue, to make the FA panic.

But the officials had, in effect, a trump card. At breakfast the next day Barber, it is understood, circulated among the players relaying the news that the rulebooks had been checked and if England did not play they would not just forfeit the match but be thrown out of the competition. That was allowed to sink in.

The players boarded the coach just after 10am and headed for Arsenal's training ground at London Colney. The trade-off came later that day. A players' statement was drafted - with Sven Goran Eriksson's approval - which was lacerating in its criticism of the FA and Palios in particular. The players said they would go to Turkey - as long as every member of the media was given a copy of the 10-paragraph attack. It was agreed. They were on the plane.

At Friday evening's final training session in Istanbul the players sought to emphasise how good-humoured the mood in the camp was. They threw themselves on to the grass, rolling around or turning somersaults and laughing - knowing all the while that their feelings at the end of a traumatic week would be determined by the result of the game. A goal-less draw - good enough to ensure a trip to Portugal next year. So, all is forgiven (save perhaps Beckham's penalty). But not soon forgotten.

Additional reporting by Steve Tongue