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Football / England vs T&T friendly 'not valid'
« on: June 05, 2008, 01:33:57 AM »
England vs T&T friendly 'not valid'
By: SkySports.[/size]
Fifa are to investigate whether England's 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago should be allowed to stand as an official international match.
Fifa rules state that no team can use more than six substitutes in international friendlies but it was thought that England and Trinidad and Tobago had been given permission to use seven in Sunday's game at Port of Spain.
Fabio Capello made seven changes during the game and a Fifa spokesman has now revealed that no such deal had been agreed.
"We did not give special dispensation to make up to seven substitutions in the Trinidad and Tobago match," he told The Sun. The Football Association have responded by insisting that they did have Fifa's backing.
Approved
A spokesman said: "The opportunity to use seven substitutes was cleared in advance of the game by Fifa, Trinidad and Tobago representative Jack Warner, the Fifa delegate for the game and the match referee.
"There is no way we would have gone ahead using seven subs without the approval that we were given."
The option to bring on a seventh substitute was given to the sides to mark Trinidad and Tobago's centenary of football.
However, if the game is scrubbed off the record books it would leave international debuts for Stephen Warnock, Dean Ashton, Joe Hart and Phil Jagielka null and void. Jermain Defoe and Gareth Barry's goals would not count and David Beckham's return as captain would be of no value.
Confusion over Trinidad substitutes puts England caps at risk.
The Guardian.co.uk.[/size]
The quartet of players handed debuts by England in Sunday's friendly against Trinidad & Tobago are in danger of losing their caps after Fifa suggested the match should not be considered an official A international after the visitors used seven substitutes.
The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, instigated a new rule at the world governing body four years ago restricting countries to only six changes in a game, a move partly prompted as a result of Sven-Goran Eriksson once fielding an entirely new team for the second half of a friendly defeat to Australia at Upton Park five years ago.
The Football Association were under the impression that they had been granted special permission by Fifa to exceed that limit for the match in Port of Spain, which was played ostensibly to celebrate the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation's centenary. Fabio Capello introduced Joe Hart, Phil Jagielka, David Bentley and Peter Crouch at half-time, with Ashley Young, Theo Walcott and Stephen Warnock brought on during the second half.
However, the governing body were unimpressed at the number of changes made and last night insisted they had not given either side the green light to bend the rules, potentially stripping the game of A international status. "We can confirm that Fifa did not give special dispensation to make up to seven substitutions at the Trinidad & Tobago versus England match," confirmed a spokesman. "We have spoken internally at Fifa about the matter and nobody allowed this to happen."
While the FA will query that stance - they felt they had been instructed prior to the game by a Fifa official that they could stretch to seven subs having originally asked to play 11 - Fifa's assessment would appear to deny Hart, Jagielka, Warnock and Dean Ashton their first caps for their country, Gareth Barry his first goal and Jermain Defoe his brace. Likewise, David Beckham would only have captained his country on 58 occasions.
It would also, in turn, affect England's Fifa world ranking - the national team climbed two places back into the top 10 last night to stand ninth following Capello's first few games in charge. Trinidad & Tobago, who according to some sources had requested the seventh substitute to accommodate Dwight Yorke's introduction, made only six changes in a game played in front of a capacity crowd of 23,000 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
By: SkySports.[/size]
Fifa are to investigate whether England's 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago should be allowed to stand as an official international match.
Fifa rules state that no team can use more than six substitutes in international friendlies but it was thought that England and Trinidad and Tobago had been given permission to use seven in Sunday's game at Port of Spain.
Fabio Capello made seven changes during the game and a Fifa spokesman has now revealed that no such deal had been agreed.
"We did not give special dispensation to make up to seven substitutions in the Trinidad and Tobago match," he told The Sun. The Football Association have responded by insisting that they did have Fifa's backing.
Approved
A spokesman said: "The opportunity to use seven substitutes was cleared in advance of the game by Fifa, Trinidad and Tobago representative Jack Warner, the Fifa delegate for the game and the match referee.
"There is no way we would have gone ahead using seven subs without the approval that we were given."
The option to bring on a seventh substitute was given to the sides to mark Trinidad and Tobago's centenary of football.
However, if the game is scrubbed off the record books it would leave international debuts for Stephen Warnock, Dean Ashton, Joe Hart and Phil Jagielka null and void. Jermain Defoe and Gareth Barry's goals would not count and David Beckham's return as captain would be of no value.
Confusion over Trinidad substitutes puts England caps at risk.
The Guardian.co.uk.[/size]
The quartet of players handed debuts by England in Sunday's friendly against Trinidad & Tobago are in danger of losing their caps after Fifa suggested the match should not be considered an official A international after the visitors used seven substitutes.
The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, instigated a new rule at the world governing body four years ago restricting countries to only six changes in a game, a move partly prompted as a result of Sven-Goran Eriksson once fielding an entirely new team for the second half of a friendly defeat to Australia at Upton Park five years ago.
The Football Association were under the impression that they had been granted special permission by Fifa to exceed that limit for the match in Port of Spain, which was played ostensibly to celebrate the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation's centenary. Fabio Capello introduced Joe Hart, Phil Jagielka, David Bentley and Peter Crouch at half-time, with Ashley Young, Theo Walcott and Stephen Warnock brought on during the second half.
However, the governing body were unimpressed at the number of changes made and last night insisted they had not given either side the green light to bend the rules, potentially stripping the game of A international status. "We can confirm that Fifa did not give special dispensation to make up to seven substitutions at the Trinidad & Tobago versus England match," confirmed a spokesman. "We have spoken internally at Fifa about the matter and nobody allowed this to happen."
While the FA will query that stance - they felt they had been instructed prior to the game by a Fifa official that they could stretch to seven subs having originally asked to play 11 - Fifa's assessment would appear to deny Hart, Jagielka, Warnock and Dean Ashton their first caps for their country, Gareth Barry his first goal and Jermain Defoe his brace. Likewise, David Beckham would only have captained his country on 58 occasions.
It would also, in turn, affect England's Fifa world ranking - the national team climbed two places back into the top 10 last night to stand ninth following Capello's first few games in charge. Trinidad & Tobago, who according to some sources had requested the seventh substitute to accommodate Dwight Yorke's introduction, made only six changes in a game played in front of a capacity crowd of 23,000 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.