Liz,

I don't think UEFA, in threatening to throw England out of the competition, are acting unfairly. The record of English fans abroad is uniquely bad going back over decades.

When the World Cup was held in the US in 1994 the organisers expressed relief that Iran had failed to qualify and said this news was only bettered by England's failure to qualify as well.

It is not good enough for British governments to say to the Dutch and Belgian police we can't stop our troublemakers travelling but when they terrorise your cities we'll tell you, after the event, how we think you should have dealt with it.

Ickle Dorrit, you're right, Portugal beat England because they were better. Having beaten a poor German side on Saturday night the English media (alright, Sky News, I shouldn't generalise) have already taken it for granted that they will now proceed to beat Romania. Do they never learn?

Shambles, I too go through similar anguish and elation when Ireland are involved in big matches and I don't consider myself a nationalistic type. Like yourself, I don't have any reassuring explanation for it. All I can say is that the Irish team's successes a while back gave the whole country a lift. Its failures, on the other hand, are not treated as national humiliations. As McGrath says, it's easier when expectations are not set too high.

Arthur O'Malley