Euro 2004: Enough to make you SCREEN; FA'S GIANT TV RIOT FEARS YOB ALERT TO HOSTS.(News)

Byline: JEREMY ARMSTRONG in Portugal

ENGLAND'S Euro 2004 matches are being shown on huge screens with alcohol on tap day and night - despite FA warnings that it could spark a riot.

The Football Association wrote to Portuguese authorities begging them not to use giant TV screens to avoid a repeat of the booze-fuelled riots in Marseille in 1998.

Any trouble could see England booted out of the tournament.

But the match venues of Lisbon and the tiny university town of Coimbra are pressing ahead, with alcohol served until 3am.

Andrin Cooper, FA spokesman, said: "We have expressed our concerns in writing to Euro 2004 about the use of big screens but they have chosen to ignore it.

"Together with sun and alcohol, they are a very dangerous cocktail. It is out of our control but we believe it is a recipe for disaster."

The UK National Criminal Intelligence Service agreed, saying: "The use of screens has always provoked trouble in the past.

"In France it sparked the Marseille riot. Why risk that again?"

Many of the concerns are centred on the ancient town of Coimbra in central Portugal.

Civic chiefs elected to use two giant screens after being told there are likely to be about 20,000 fans arriving without tickets for next Thursday's England v Switzerland game.

The match will be shown in a riverside park and in one of the main squares.

Nuno Nossa, of the council's 2004 organising committee, said: "This is a student town. We regularly cater for 60,000 young people at night.

"England fans want to come to Portugal for some fun. We believe they are not going to cause any trouble."

Coimbra tourist chief Paulo Neves said the idea was to show supporters the sights so they want to return on holiday. He said: "We welcome the England fans with open arms. We are not scared of them."

The Home Office said: "It is up to Portugal how it goes about showing the games.

"The authorities may have decided it was easier to police all the fans in one place."

The FA sold 32,000 tickets for England's three group matches with stringent security checks.

But about 80,000 UK fans have also been able to buy direct from Uefa on the internet.

At least 50,000 are expected to travel to Portugal, while a further 200,000 English tourists will also be in the country.

But European governing body Uefa warned there could be no distinction between "official" England fans and those who had obtained tickets from other sources if there is any trouble.

Communications director William Gaillard said: "The English FA is responsible for the behaviour of all football fans from England."

Star striker Michael Owen, 25, made a public appeal to fans to behave.

He said: "It would be a massive shame if we were prevented from playing for non-footballing reasons."

Meanwhile, England's first Euro 2004 training camp was yesterday at the centre of a massive anti-terrorist operation.

Armed police went through undergrowth around Lisbon's Estadio Nacional as the team prepared for their first session in the sun.

Specialist teams also swept an area within the huge steel barriers around the compound, which is patrolled by dozens of officers.

An FA disclaimer stated it could accept "no responsibility whatsoever" for death or personal injury caused by acts of terrorism.

CAPTION(S):

DANGER: Screens like this in London's Trafalgar Square could lead to trouble, the FA warns; ARREST: Cops act in France in 1998