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England striker Sheringham accused of night club spree
LONDON, June 5 (AFP)
Glenn Hoddle was to question his striker Teddy Sheringham over claims he has broken the England coachs ban on drinking in the buildup to the World Cup.

The Sun newspaper on Friday ran a photo of Sheringham allegedly taken at a nightclub on Portugals Algarve at 6.45am. He is pictured smoking and it is claimed he had been drinking.

Coach Glenn Hoddle had ordered a pre-World Cup curfew when players returned from training camp in Spain. They were supposed to spend three days resting before joining up at the squads hotel near London on Friday.

Sheringham, the 32-year-old Manchester United striker, is likely to figure in the England side in their opening clash with Tunisia in Marseille on June 15.

Hoddle has already axed midfifield star Paul Gascoigne, accused of being drunk at the Spanish training camp, for failing to get fit in time. It is too late to drop Sheringham, if he owns up to breaking the drink ban, because Hoddle had to put in his final list of 22 players to FIFA on Monday.

After Hoddle coach axed Gascoigne, there will be pressure on the Football Association for punitive action against the player if he is proved to have broken Hoddles rules. An FA spokesman said: "We want to establish the facts before we can make any comment."

The England coach seems sure to feel his faith in his players has been let down, even more so as Sheringham is a senior member of his squad. Hoddle laid down the law after Gascoigne was caught out on the town with showbiz pals Rod Stewart, Chris Evans and Danny Baker three weeks ago, and then spotted eating a kebab in Soho in the early hours of the morning.

When asked to comment on Gascoignes actions, Hoddle made it clear that such behaviour was unacceptable in the build-up to the World Cup. He stressed then: "When the players come back from La Manga, they will still be on England duty.The three days they are at home is the time to be with their families and friends, not to be out drinking." 

The Professional Footballers Association leapt to the defence of Sheringham.

Chief executive Gordon Taylor said: "It reminds me of what happened in Italy in 1990, the World Cup campaign...just before Euro 96 and then if you recall, there was the business in Hong Kong when they were on a night out. And of course those same players went on to do extremely well for England. Theyre young men, theyve been in strict training. They have got three days holiday and, basically, different people let their hair down in different ways. I know our players are as fit as any else in the world. Whether our league is the best in quality is a matter of judgement - it certainly is in competitiveness. You speak to any of the foreign players who come here and they are amazed at the competitiveness and endurance of our players. " He added: "We talk about how our players like a drink - what happens in Italy is that they smoke. In different places in the world, people relax in different ways.

"We have a culture where young men like to go out and stay up late, that doesnt mean to say they dont catch up on their sleep when it matters. It gets a bit pathetic. Its happened in cricket, as well, and no doubt itll continue to happen. In a perfect world, you would want your best athletes having good sleep, eating the right food, drinking the right drink. People will be judged according to their ability. Thats the management thing - Glenn Hoddle has given them a period off. We have got to be careful not to run the game by the whims of the media. The players will come back into training for hopefully a month and at least a fortnight. These players arent getting fit now - theyve already played some 50 games. Its a three-games-a-week profession now and they areentitled to a break and a wind-down, otherwise theyd go mentally insane." 

 

© - AFP - 1998