FIFA to investigate tunnel trouble

Fifa president Sepp Blatter says it will hold an investigation into the violence at the end of the World Cup tie between Turkey and Switzerland. The Swiss qualified on the away goals rule but the end of the game was marred as players clashed in the tunnel. Blatter says the inquiry will be finished by the 9th of December, when the draw for the finals takes place in Leipzig. He warned: "I can tell you this, not as a Swiss but as president of Fifa, that we will act and we will act tough." Blatter added: "This was anti-fair play. The Turks had the chance to act as a good host and show that a revenge foul is not done in football. "The catalogue of sanctions extends from a simple warning to suspension of the federation, which could mean exclusion from the next international event. "The inquiry will show whether we will investigate against Switzerland, too."


The Swiss players left the pitch in Istanbul under a hail of objects thrown by the Turkish crowd and defender Stephane Grichting was taken to hospital with a groin injury following trouble in the tunnel. "Grichting received some blows. He was covered in blood. He went to hospital, shocked," said Swiss midfielder Johann Lonfat. "We were attacked. It was unbelievable. And I'm not talking about the pressure we sustained during the stay. "We expected an electric atmosphere, an overheated atmosphere, but not that. This went beyond the limits of intimidation. I was told: 'We're going to slit your throat.'" Swiss team spokesman Pierre Benoit confirmed Grichting had been to hospital but that he was now back with the squad.

"He has had to have a catheter put in and he will need seven to 10 days to recover," added Benoit. Swiss coach Kobi Kuhn was stunned by the events in the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium."This is absolutely scandalous," he said. "The Turkish police didn't think for a second about beating up people from Turkish television to stop them filming and that says it all about the atmosphere surrounding the end of the match." The Swiss bus was pelted with eggs when they flew in on Monday and the Swiss national anthem was whistled during Wednesday's pre-match ceremony - as the Turkish anthem had been in Bern. The Swiss team left Turkey from Ataturk Airport on Thursday under heavy police protection. But the trouble in Istanbul will have taken the shine off their qualification for next year's World Cup finals in Germany. Kuhn's team lost 4-2 to Turkey after a 2-0 victory in the first leg but won the tie on the away goals rule.

Tuncay Sanli scored a hat-trick for the Turks, who finished third in the 2002 World Cup, but Marco Streller's 84th-minute goal put the Swiss through. The match ended with tempers fraying and television footage showed Benjamin Huggel kicking a member of the Turkish coaching staff as he ran off the pitch. The Turkish media blamed Huggel's kick for sparking the trouble. And Turkey striker Halil Altintop, with German team Kaiserslautern, played down the clashes. "A few of our players overreacted after the match but I am happy there were no serious incidents," he said. "I was in the Swiss locker room and talked to the players I knew from the Bundesliga. They said everything was fine." Former Aston Villa defender Alpay then aimed a kick at Streller as the goalscorer went down the tunnel towards the dressing rooms. That is when the major trouble erupted.

This is not a very nice thing to see happening after a team has just qualified for the World Cup. Well done to Switzerland and all that shite, but I have heard from several places that it was the Swiss player's fault. He kicked one of the Turkish team's staff and that started the whole thing off. I also think that alot of blame has to be handed out to the Turkey team. Ah well they have always been associated with trouble let's hope they can clear their act up in future.