A DIEHARD England fan from York who defied FA advice and travelled to the crucial game against Turkey said today he was not worried about being banned from Euro 2004.
The FA had urged fans not to travel over fears crowd trouble could lead to England being banned from the tournament.
But Craig Holt, his wife, Jo, and friends Nigel Kelly and Sian Malarkey managed to get in to the match.
Craig, landlord of the Five Lions pub, Walmgate, said he had been an England supporters' club member, now known as englandfans, for more than 20 years - but was planning to leave anyway.
Craig said: "I am sick of it. I used to be in the top 300 for (loyalty) points but they kept changing it and I lost all my points."
The 44-year-old said if he was threatened with a banning order he will point out he was in Turkey on a family holiday. He added: "We had two weeks booked. We went to the game on the spur of the moment."
Supporters passports can be temporarily confiscated under the Football Supporters Act of 2000.
Nigel, of Poppleton Road, said he had already booked his flights for Euro 2004. The four fans flew to Hisaronu for their holiday, with only Nigel and Craig planning to go to the match.
But they said help from friendly Fernabache fan Ozan Gundogmus, known as Ozzy, and the disbelief of other Brits aboard spurred them on to see the game.
Nigel, boss of K&S Paving, said: "Everyone was saying we wouldn't make it. That made us more determined."
The foursome flew business class to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines.
The internal flight meant no police, security or passport checks.
On match day, the England diehards met Ozzy in a pub near the ground to get tickets.
Craig said: "He got the tickets no problem for £45 each on the black market."
The four fans then bought Turkey scarves, shirts and hats to disguise themselves. Police were searching everyone at the two security lines outside the ground and confiscating anything that could be used as a missile. Craig was stopped inside the ground, at the third security cordon.
He said: "I thought about running but that would have been it. Jo was saying I was Scottish, then one of Ozzy's mates spoke to the policeman for a few minutes and he waved us through."
They said the feeling when England got the draw they needed was "amazing", but they had to keep their emotions in check.
They did not see any trouble.
Nigel, a Leeds fan, said the potential for trouble had been "hyped".
Two Leeds fans were murdered before a match in Turkey in 2000.
He said: "What happened was tragic. But it was caused by six or seven blokes from a country of millions."
Updated: 10:58 Wednesday, October 15, 2003
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