FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template

England coach Glenn Hoddle on Friday called on fans at Wembley not to disrupt opposing teams’ national anthems ahead of Saturday’s friendly against Saudi Arabia at Wembley. Cat-calling during the Portuguese anthem last month upset both Hoddle and his players and the England coach feels whistling and booing only serve to inspire opponents even more.

The boos, which were all-too frequent a part of the build-up to England games in recent years, seemed to have died away after Terry Venables made a public plea for good manners in the build-up to Euro 96. The whistles and jeers were noticeable by their absence during the tournament, but returned at Wembley last time out. Hoddle said: “It started again before the Portugal game and it does nothing except wind up the opposition, which is hardly what the fans want.”Booing foreign anthems is the last thing we want our fans to be doing in France.”