Off the pitch
Beckham underwhelmed
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| England's David Beckham plays with the ball during a training session with his team, 11 June 2004, at the Estadio Nacional, in Lisbon in preparation for the European Nations championship. England will play 13 June its opening game at the Euro 2004 vs title-holder France. |
England captain David Beckham, snapped in his England training kit here, has expressed his regrets over images of him stood on a hotel balcony in his underwear published in the English press.
"I must admit I wasn't happy with that sort of picture being on the front page of the paper," said the Real Madrid star. "But it didn't surprise me.
"However the FA will take the necessary action as they had already warned the media about intruding on our privacy,"
Beckham added it would not affect his performance against France on Sunday. "I'm used to it after 10 years. Its part and parcel of my life and football is my way of getting away from it."
Racist abuse means ban
English supporters caught chanting racist slogans during Euro 2004 will be barred from future England matches.
Plain clothes British policemen will mix with fans at the matches and catch on camera anyone shouting racist abuse which could be used in prosecutions against them leading to them being banned from future matches.
A group of around 30 English fans were caught by a policeman using racist slogans against Pakistanis and Turks in Lisbon on Thursday.
England have already been threatened with expulsion from the tournament if their fans go on the rampage as they did in Euro 2000 in Belgium.
Same as 94 says veteran
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| Daniel Borimirov of Bulgarian football team poses at the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, 07 October 2003. AFP PHOTO DIMITAR DILKOFF |
Bulgaria's sole squad member to take part in their 1994 run to the World Cup semi-finals, the 34-year-old Daniel Borimirov, has compared the current crop of stars to the vintage one.
"The two teams are similar and the situation is more or less the same too," said the Levski Sofia midfielder. "There's no pressure and that's an advantage. We sit around watching videos of our group rivals and it's all very relaxed," he added.
Borimirov also played at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 96 as his side now get ready to take on Sweden in their opener on Monday while Italy and Denmark complete the Group B.
Police ready to jam phones
Portuguese police have acquired some 30 special electronic devices which can be used to jam mobile phone signals at stadiums during Euro matches.
The jammers will be used if police suspect extremists are planning to use mobile phones to trigger explosives.
"These devices will only be activated in exceptional situations," revealed a police official.
Spanish police suspect the Islamic extremists responsible for the March 11 commuter train bombings in Madrid which killed nearly 200 people utilised mobile phones to trigger the explosives.
UEFA boss defends ball
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| Handout drawing released 04 June 2004 shows the different layers of new Euro 2004 football "Roteiro", made by sports equipment maker Adidas together with German chemicals giants Bayer. Bayer provided the raw material, such as the polyurethane-resins of which the ball is made. The ball is supposed to recover its shape after each shot and in case of rainy weather conditions. The opening match of the Portugal held European championships is on 12 June 2004 opposing Portugal to Greece in Porto. AFP PHOTO HO |
UEFA boss Lennart Johansson gave his backing Friday to the controversial new ball to be used for the first time at Euro 2004.
"I haven't played with it so much," smiled the seventysomething Swede. "But FIFA are very strict in what they expect from any new ball used," Johansson said.
"I've heard some people are saying it's too small, others that there are problems on the pitch - but we've received no official complaints and on the whole I'm sure we'll find it meets everyone's expectations."
Extra flights laid on for fans
Portugal's flag carrier TAP-Air Portugal said Friday it would add 25 charter flights until June 22 to meet demand for travel to the country because of the Euro finals.
The airline, which is due to be partly privatised, is the carrier for the Italian, German and Portuguese national teams.
The government estimates half a million people will travel to Portugal during Euro, the third-biggest sporting event in terms of television audiences after the Olympics and the football World Cup.
TAP posted a net profit of 19.7 million euros (23.9 million dollars) in 2003 after four years of losses.
Euro hits silver screen
A movie theatre at Sporting Lisbon's new stadium complex is to show ten matches on its 18 metres wide (60 ft) screen, charging an entrance fee of ten euros.
The Euro 2004 opener between Portugal and Greece on Saturday and the final on July 4 are among the coming attractions.
Dutch photographer arrested
Euro 2004 security was put under the microscope on Friday when a Dutch photographer was arrested for climbing a fence to get a shot of the Netherlands' behind-closed-doors training camp.
The male photographer was apprehended by Portuguese police who took him into custody for his troubles.
The man was later released after being cautioned by local officials.
The Netherlands face Germany in their opening match in Oporto on Tuesday.
Serial streaker grounded
Fans hoping to see a bit of flesh during the Euro finals have reason to be disappointed as British serial streaker Mark Roberts says he would not make an appearance in Portugal.
"I am under a banning order which means whenever England or Liverpool play abroad, I have to turn in my passport to police. So for this reason I can't go to Portugal," he said.
"It's a shame because I really, really wanted to go to Euro 2004."
Roberts, 39, has streaked over 380 times since his first escapade ten years ago including a recent appearance at the Super Bowl that has landed him in hot water with American authorities.
Death keeps Gronkjaer out
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| Danish mid-fielder Jesper Groenkjaer, Chelsea FC, is photographed before Denmark's match against Scotland in Copenhagen 28 April 2004. AFP PHOTO - SVEN NACKSTRAND |
Denmark's Euro preparations have been badly hit with the news that the mother of winger Jesper Gronkjaer has died of cancer.
The Chelsea player had stayed behind in Denmark to be at her side as she fought the illness, but she died on Thursday.
The player's immediate plans were not known, but he was not expected to be named in the side to take on the Italians.
"There are things more important in life than football, especially the family," said Denmark coach Morten Olsen.
Denmark have already seen veteran Morten Wieghorst drop out and another midfielder Thomas Gravesen suspended for the opener.