If Tottenham Hotspur were drawn in Serbia, should they leave Caulker at home just in case?
England’s under-21 encounter in Serbia last month was no laughing matter, in fact it was a disgrace.
Starting with the racist chanting from the Serbian crowd, to the on pitch brawl at the final whistle.
For two players, the bad memories will not go away. Blackpool’s Tom Ince and Tottenham Hotspur’s Steven Caulker.
Both have been charged by Serbian police with ‘committed an act of violence during a sports event.’
What happens next is unclear. The situation is quite unprecedented.
The FA are in discussions with the Home Office over the situation, which doesn’t look to be going away.
Serbia is a non-EU country, and has no extradition treaty with the UK, although the former Yugoslavia does.
It is highly unlikely the Government would allow either player to actually be put on a plane and taken to court in Serbia to face trial, and so instead the charges will likely lie on file.
For Tom Ince, there is little prospect of Blackpool playing in Europe anytime soon, so as long as he picks his holiday destinations with caution, he should be able to stay out of trouble for now, although a touted move to Manchester United could one day cause a dilemma for him in the fixtures conspired against him.
For Steven Caulker, that dilemma would emerge if Tottenham are drawn against a Serbian team. With Partizan bottom of their Europa League group this season, it doesn’t appear likely for now, but in future seasons who knows?
It it were to happen, this unfortunate episode means Tottenham’s only option would be to leave Caulker at home for the away trip.
With police likely waiting for the player at the airport to arrest him, there is no guarantee he would come home. And that is not a risk player or club would be prepared to take.
What do you think about these latest developments?
image: © zongo
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