Russia fly into Israel today for their Euro crunch and straight
into a dirty tricks row.
There are claims UEFA has bowed to pressure and switched the ref at
the last minute to keep Guus Hiddinks men happy.
The Tel Aviv pitch has also been relaid and the sight of giant
goalposts at an Israel training session yesterday did little to
convince England they can depend on the Israelis to at least snatch
a draw and keep our Euro 2008 hopes alive!
UEFA announced yesterday that Italian Stefano Farina will take
charge of tomorrows Group E qualifier.
Russian sources insisted controversial German Herbert Fandel was
initially chosen to officiate in Tel Aviv.
Fandel sparked outrage in Russia this summer with accusations of
bias against Spartak Moscow in a Champions League match against
Scottish champs Celtic.
Our source said: The Russians have believed for weeks that the
referee was going to be Fandel. They were not happy but they are
now.
The Russians leave their training camp in Cyprus this morning and
will train at the 45,000-capacity Ramat Gan Stadium this evening.
Englands stars were disgusted with the pitch when they drew 0-0 in
March but the Israel FA have already torn up the old turf.
An Israel FA spokesman said: The pitch was completely resurfaced
about a month ago. It will be absolutely immaculate for the game
against Russia. It looks more like a snooker table than a football
pitch and experts have described it as perfect.
There was more bad news for England last night when it emerged that
Israels first team played the reserves in a full-blown practice
match and LOST 2-1.
