Crozier to have final say over Bowyer/Woodgate

LONDON (Reuters) - Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate could learn this week whether they have an England future, a British Sunday newspaper has reported.

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson will meet Football Association (FA) officials to decide whether the two Leeds United players should be allowed to represent their country following the end of their court case, The Observer reported.

But it will be FA chief executive Adam Crozier, and not Eriksson, who has the final say on the matter, the report says.

"We clearly have to think about the future and we'll do that over the next two or three weeks," Crozier told the paper.

Bowyer and Woodgate were barred from England duty when both were charged with grievous bodily harm and affray following an attack on a student in Leeds city centre in January 2000.

Their trial ended last month with Bowyer, the midfielder, cleared of both charges and Woodgate, the defender, found guilty of affray.

It had been expected that the pair would be free to resume their England careers following the trial. The paper says Bowyer, having been acquitted, cannot be barred from England duty but he will not necessarily be selected in future.

Bowyer, a former England under-21 international, has yet to win a senior cap but his form for Leeds has led many to believe he will warrant a place in Eriksson's squad for the World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan.

Woodgate has one senior England cap, against Bulgaria in 1999.

John Terry, the Chelsea defender, was charged earlier this month with assault and affray after an alleged incident in a London nightclub.

The Observer says that, like Bowyer and Woodgate, he could be barred from representing England pending the outcome of legal proceedings. "Clearly, there is a need in any of our decisions to be consistent," Crozier is quoted as saying.

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