Off the pitch
Police on red alert in Faro
Portuguese police are on red alert for a terrorist attack after catching three Arabs filming car parks, garages and the city centre in the southern resort of Faro.
Local police are searching for the trio who were themselves caught on video cameras tactically positioned around the area.
The suspects were filming the city centre where thousands of fans gather each day to watch matches on giant screens from Euro 2004.
Police say they have gathered substantial evidence in order to indentify the men who arrived in Portugal on June 13 from London.
Sentenced fan released in England
An English football fan who was sentenced to two years jail in Portugal for rioting but then sent home was released as soon as he set foot on British soil in what officials said might cause a diplomatic incident.
Gary Mann, a 46-year-old firefighter from Kent, southeast England, had to be let go because the Portuguese authorities had not locked him up before expelling him.
"If a prisoner is released, we cannot then when he arrives in the UK put him in prison," a spokeswoman said. "They should have put him in prison in Portugal and then transferred him."
Baric hopes for late present
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| Croatian coach - blows out candles on his 71th birthday 19 June 2004 in Couco. England should be scared of playing Croatia and not the other way round claimed Croat coach Otto Baric 18 June as the tension builds towards their crucial Euro 2004 Group B clash 21June. The reason for the confidence of Baric, who turns 71 on Saturday, stems from the impressive second-half display by his side in the 2-2 draw with champions France on Thursday while England beat 10-man Switzerland 3-0. AFP PHOTO STR |
Croatia coach Otto Baric blew out the candles on his 71st birthday cake on Saturday but on Monday he hopes his players honour their promise to him and keep their Euro hopes aflame.
To do that the 1998 World Cup semi-finalists must beat England but buoyed by their much improved performance in the 2-2 draw with champions France on Thursday they believe they can give their coach a belated birthday present.
"Beating England would be the present of all presents," said the former Austria national coach.
"And I believe that it will be delivered to me by the players on Monday."
Italian press blame Trap
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| Italy's head coach Giovanni Trapattoni chats with his palyers, 18 June 2004 at the Dragao stadium in Porto, during their Euro 2004 Group C football match at the European Nations championships in Portugal. AFP PHOTO Vincenzo PINTO |
Two ill-judged substitutions by coach Giovanni Trapattoni have left Italy on the brink of Euro elimination, the Italian press charged Saturday.
The Italians were leading Sweden 1-0 when Trapattoni brought off Antonio Cassano and Alessandro Del Piero and Sweden equalised with five minutes to go.
"Cassano scores and impresses," Corriere dello Sport said.
"Then Trap takes him off and puts Italy into trouble. It was total domination then Trap takes off Cassano and del Piero," it added.
Gazzetta dello sport headlined "Hanging by a thread."
Danish press hails team
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| Denmark's forward Jon Dahl Tomasson (hidden) is congratulated by several teammates next to Bulgaria's defender Rossen Kirilov (foreground) after scoring the opening goal,18 June 2004 at Braga's stadium, during their team's Euro 2004 group C football match against Bulgaria at the European Nations championship in Portugal. AFP PHOTO Mladen ANTONOV |
The Danish press hailed the national team after their 2-0 win over Bulgaria which put the side on the brink of the quarter-finals.
"With Jesper Gronkjaer and Thomas Gravesen back in starring roles, Denmark performed like a team on rock-solid ground in the former quarry" that is now the Braga stadium, beamed daily Jyllands-Posten.
"The 2-0 victory was well-deserved and builds an incredibly strong foundation for the decisive clash against Sweden on Tuesday," it said.
"With a little goodwill, the happy ending will stretch even a little beyond Tuesday's match against Sweden," another daily, Berlingske Tidende, wrote.
Frei accused of spitting
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| England's midfielder Steven Gerrard (L) vies with Switzerland's forward Alexander Frei, 17 June 2004 at Coimbra's stadium, during their Euro 2004 group B football match at the European Nations championship in Portugal. AFP PHOTO Paul BARKER |
UEFA is investigating an incident involving Swiss striker Alexander Frei and England midfielder Steven Gerrard during Thursday's match in Coimbra.
A video tape supplied by the German broadcaster ZDF appears to show Frei spitting at Gerrard and UEFA on its official Euro 2004 website said it had requested evidence from the parties involved.
There has been no complaint from either the English Football Association or Gerrard and UEFA will study the players' statements and the video footage before deciding whether to instigate disciplinary proceedings.
More England fans arrested
There was more trouble overnight in Albufeira involving England football fans in Portugal.
Police made 12 arrests after moving in to calm the situation when several bars closed early.
Journalists and photographers reporting from the disturbances were assaulted and had to resists attempts to steal their cameras.
Police were able to restore calm around 3:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), but remained on alert.
The latest round of arrests followed two trouble-free nights that followed on from Monday and Tuesday when around 50 English fans and one Dutch fan were arrested during disturbances.
Seven arrested in Vietnam for betting
Seven people have been arrested in Vietnam for gambling on Euro 2004 football matches.
The seven, including four students from Hanoi University, were caught red-handed Tuesday as they were betting on the result of the Italy-Denmark game in a student cafe.
Police seized 100 million dong (around 6,500 dollars) and mobile phones.
The group admitted gambling the equivalent of between 95 and 650 dollars on the game. Nguyen Tien Lap, 25, the gang's leader, said the group had been set up three months ago.
It is the first gambling network dismantled in the country since the beginning of Euro 2004.
Swiss squabble over Beckham shirt
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| England's captain David Beckham smiles during today's 6-1 victory over Iceland in the FA Summer tournament match at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester 05 June 2004. AFP photo by Paul Barker |
Switzerland's players appear to have been scrambling to swap shirts with David Beckham after Thursday's defeat against England.
Christoph Spycher lamented that Beckham had declined to give him his shirt following his defensive tussle with the Real Madrid and England midfielder. Beckham reportedly said he had promised it to someone else.
Striker Alexander Frei turned out to be the lucky man. "We met in the middle of the pitch at the final whistle. We had a chat and the swap took place quite naturally in the changing rooms," Frei said. (AFP)
England fan gets carried away
An England fan who had overdone the celebrations for the victory over Switzerland took to sea on an inflatable mattress off the Algarve resort of Albufeira. Luckily the man was picked up by a fishing boat having drifted out to sea. Unfortunately, not knowing that he had been found, two coastguard boats scoured the area and a helicopter was put on standby, officials in the town said.
After riot police clashed with fighting English fans in the resort earlier this week, Albufeira is not going to forget the 'Barmy Army' for quite a while.