Turkey warns supporters over behaviour at England match

By Daren Butler

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's Football Federation warned its team's supporters on Thursday that any misbehaviour at this weekend's highly charged Euro 2004 qualifier against England will be punished.

The build-up to Saturday's game has been overshadowed by security worries after recent clashes 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.

Fearing any UEFA sanction itself, the Turkish federation said police would confiscate from spectators any objects that could be used as projectiles, ranging from mobile phones and cigarette lighters to bottles and umbrellas.

"Any ugly incident that happens in the stands during the match, no matter how small, may tarnish us in a way that we do not deserve and which will be difficult to erase historically," the federation said in a statement.

"There will be a punishment for any ugly event in the stands. It may be hard to anticipate what that punishment will be but we believe the consequences are not difficult to predict," the statement said.

England were hit by a record UEFA fine and a warning over future conduct after racist chanting by home fans, a pitch invasion and trouble outside the ground that marred their 2-0 defeat of Turkey in April.

Police have sent a list with names of around 1,000 known English hooligans to Turkish airports and other border gates to stop them entering the country.

Turkish newspapers said on Thursday that separate passport control counters had been established for British citizens at Istanbul airport to identify hooligans. English police officers are to help pick out any potential troublemakers.

On Saturday evening, more than 5,000 police will be on duty at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium on the Asian shores of Istanbul.

Security officials will establish a triple security cordon around the stadium and will check identity cards to make sure that no England fans are allowed in.

The England squad was scheduled to arrive at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport on Thursday evening.

England's preparations for the match have been undermined by this week's row over the decision to drop defender Rio Ferdinand which was resolved late on Wednesday when the players dropped a threat to boycott the game.

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