Sport 29-10-2004 Crowd Trouble Was "Regrettable" who: The FA what: Announces investigations into crowd trouble at Millwall and Chelsea games where: LONDON when: Yesterday snippet: "The FA have bottled it by deciding NOT to punish clubs whose yob fans shamed soccer this week," says The Sun. There was a "mini-riot" after Liverpool`s Carling Cup game against Millwall at The Den on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday night Chelsea`s Mateja Kezman, who scored the winner in their 1-0 victory over West Ham, "was hit above the left eye by a coin thrown from the Stamford Bridge stands," says The Independent`s Nick Harris. Police say they are "more concerned with catching individuals than punishing clubs"; the FA`s spokesman announced investigations into the "regrettable" incidents and yesterday stated publicly "that football can ill-afford to be complacent about violence" but The Sun`s Charlie Wyett calls it a "whitewash". So is there a fresh explosion of hooliganism, or is it just a slow day for sports news? The Telegraph`s Christopher Davies points to the statistics. "A record 2,596 convicted hooligans have been banned from attending matches at home and abroad for up to 10 years," he writes. "More than 1,200 new banning orders which require fans to surrender passports when England or Wales are playing, were issued over the last year. Ministers claimed the clampdown has led to a drop in hooliganism and a generally trouble-free Euro 2004." [... more]

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