Uefa official highly critical of IFC

A senior Uefa official has launched an extraordinary attack on the Independent Football Commission (IFC), accusing it of "wildly over-the-top sycophancy" towards English clubs after the watchdog pointed out deficiencies in safety standards and crowd control at many European stadiums.

After a week in which Italian and Spanish police have been strongly criticised for disproportionately violent tactics when dealing with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur fans, Uefa has accused the IFC of displaying "a strong xenophobic undercurrent" in a report on the experiences of the six English clubs that took part in European competition last season.

The IFC responded by accusing European football's governing body of being "gratuitously hostile" and has called for an urgent clear-the-air meeting, according to leaked correspondence between the two organisations obtained by the Guardian.

In February this year the watchdog, set up in 2001 as a result of the British government's Football Task Force, sent Uefa a series of recommendations on combatting disorder, including urging it to set its own safety standards in stadiums, establish consistent policing arrangements and encourage wider use of English stewards.

But in response a five-page letter from Giorgio Marchetti, Uefa's director of professional football, attacked the IFC, questioning its funding arrangements and the "degree of independence or democratic legitimacy of its commissioners".

Marchetti said it was well known the IFC had been established to stave off government regulation. In his letter, copied to the FA chairman Geoff Thompson, British sports minister Richard Caborn, the Home Office and supporters' groups, he wrote: "The pub-talk style of the report, the wildly over-the-top sycophancy towards English clubs and the tendency to descend into ranting at certain points, all detract further from the credibility of the report." He said the IFC had failed to address the issue of "social self-control" among English supporters, saying it was predominantly the English who sought to enter grounds with black-market or forged tickets.

Guardian Service