Protecting players key to cancelling Wembley international

The decision was taken after consultations between the FA, the Metropolitan Police, the Government and Brent Council following the violence in the capital during the past three days.

Concerns about having insufficient police resources because of the unrest to ensure the security of players, officials and supporters played a part in the decision to postpone the encounter.

The entire England squad and head coach Fabio Capello gave their support to the decision via a statement and the squad were in attendance at the press conference given by Bernstein and Club England managing director Adrian Bevington yesterday.

Bernstein said: “Due to the sporadic and widespread nature of the unrest, there are significant concerns in relation to the available emergency service resources to safely police this fixture. The authorities have advised us that, under the terms of our Safety Certificate, we are unable to host the fixture or guarantee the safety of visiting supporters or the teams.

“It was the question of resources, both of the police and the other emergency services.

“It was the question of transportation, certain concerns about protection of players from both sides, their travelling in coaches and so on, so there were a lot of issues.

“For these reasons, the game cannot go ahead. The FA wishes to make it clear it is in complete agreement with the advice of the Metropolitan Police, the Government and Brent Council.”

Bernstein added: “I am incredibly sad. There are thousands of fans who would have been at the match, millions would have watched it on TV.

“It is terribly sad that a major sports event of this sort has to be cancelled in this way. But we have to put safety and security matters first. There is no question about that. I think we have done the only thing we could do. There was no choice in this situation.”

The Dutch federation (KNVB) are reported to be seeking compensation for the game being postponed but Bernstein hopes it will be rescheduled sooner rather than later.

The Premier League and Football League will tomorrow make a decision about weekend matches in London in the wake of the trouble in the capital.

The leagues say they have no reason to believe any games outside of London will be affected.

A statement from the leagues said: “The Premier League and Football League are saddened by the recent incidents of civil unrest and the effect it is having on local communities.

“We are in ongoing discussions with our London-based clubs, the Metropolitan Police and statutory authorities in regard to the staging of the coming weekend’s fixtures in the capital.

“The Metropolitan Police has conveyed to us the dynamic nature of the current situation and with that in mind all parties will review the situation on Thursday and make a further public statement at that time.”

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