March 29, 2002 (Thursday) from Jonathan Woodgate Club

FA race hate fury

JONATHAN WOODGATE is out of the World Cup - because the FA feared a race war if they picked the Leeds defender.

Woodgate was to be named by coach Sven Goran Eriksson for the World Cup warm-up against Italy this week, but FA boss Adam Crozier ordered him to ignore the players' claims and overruled the Swede.

Fears of a racial backlash were sparked with the match being played at Elland Road, just a mile from where Asian youth Sarfraz Najeib was assaulted. Woodgate was found not guilty of the assault but guilty of
affray following the incident.

Pressure groups had threatened to protest against the inclusion of Woodgate and anti-racism chief Lord Herman Ouseley wrote to the FA, saying: "I am hopeful a commonsense decision will be reached. I don't want to inflame passions."

The Najeib family have threatened to take out a civil action against Woodgate - and Lee Bowyer - and the FA were wary of papers being served on Woodgate as he trained with England.

That would disrupt the squad in the build-up to the game, embarrass Eriksson and plunge the FA into a racial minefield.

With that in mind, Eriksson has also been told that he can't pick Woodgate until AFTER the World Cup finals.

Eriksson reluctantly agreed, even though he has already lost Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown for this week's game against Italy.

The FA argued that picking Woodgate would spark a circus of interest from protest groups and the media, which would prove a distraction to Eriksson and his squad.

But the decision outraged Leeds fans. One said: "Since when did pressure groups decide the England team?

"I thought competing in the World Cup was about selecting your best players."

Ray Fell, chairman of the Leeds United Supporters Club, said: "It's hugely disappointing because Woodgate has taken his punishment and is playing well enough to be picked for the England side.

"Elland Road would have been the best place for him to be picked for his first game back because there will be a lot of Leeds fans there and they would have really got behind him.

"You have to wonder how long this is going to keep coming back to haunt him."

Copyright © 2001 JonnyWoodyOnline. This is a 100% unofficial fan site, and is not associated to or affiliated with either Jonathon or Leeds United Football Club.