It is a bitter irony for English football that after ending 30 years of hurt at the hands of Germany on Saturday, their supporters may cost the national team further participation in the world's second biggest soccer tournament for inflicting 20 years of pain on the cities of Europe. The decision by the governing body of European football, UEFA, to warn England that they may be thrown out of Euro 2000 is long overdue and may finally bring the Football Association and the British Government to their senses in addressing a blight on sport that is almost unique to England.
While other major countries have had their problems with football supporters in the last two decades, many European governments have attempted to address the problem through stricter passport controls and targeting of known hooligans. It is a damning indictment of the football authorities in England and successive governments that the lessons of countless incidents of shameful behaviour have still not been learned. While many Irish people will recall the terror and mayhem of the Lansdowne Road riot in 1995, the catalogue of violence by the boorish, drunk and dangerous English football supporters has been visited on too many cities for the FA and British government to try and wash their hands of their antics and promise tough action in the future.
There was little sign yesterday that the British Home Secretary, Jack Straw, grasped the seriousness of UEFA's threat when he said that he didn't accept any criticism over inaction on English football supporters travelling abroad. Although this may have been at odds with his later apology to the Belgian people and the announcement of new measures to curb soccer hooliganism, it underlined the ineptitude of the British government in dealing with the issue and particularly the potential flashpoint of Charleroi last Saturday.
The German authorities prepared meticulously for Euro 2000 and Saturday night's game through two years of constant surveillance of anyone suspected of being involved in football violence and then rushed through special legislation enabling police officers to confiscate suspects' passports. Sadly, the British government did not follow suit and England is now on the verge of the most humiliating moment in its sporting history. Irrespective of whether England progress any further in the Euro 2000 tournament, it will be entirely fitting if the country pays the ultimate price in sporting terms for the supporters' behaviour by losing out in the battle to stage the World Cup finals in 2006.