Russia fly into Israel today for their Euro crunch and straight into a dirty tricks row.
There are claims UEFA has bowed to pressure and switched the ref at the last minute to keep Guus HiddinkÂ’s men happy.
The Tel Aviv pitch has also been relaid — and the sight of giant goalposts at an Israel training session yesterday did little to convince England they can depend on the Israelis to at least snatch a draw and keep our Euro 2008 hopes alive!
UEFA announced yesterday that Italian Stefano Farina will take charge of tomorrowÂ’s Group E qualifier.
Russian sources insisted controversial German Herbert Fandel was initially chosen to officiate in Tel Aviv.
Fandel sparked outrage in Russia this summer with accusations of bias against Spartak Moscow in a Champions League match against Scottish champs Celtic.
Our source said: “The Russians have believed for weeks that the referee was going to be Fandel. They were not happy — but they are now.”
The Russians leave their training camp in Cyprus this morning and will train at the 45,000-capacity Ramat Gan Stadium this evening. EnglandÂ’s stars were disgusted with the pitch when they drew 0-0 in March but the Israel FA have already torn up the old turf.
An Israel FA spokesman said: “The pitch was completely resurfaced about a month ago. It will be absolutely immaculate for the game against Russia. It looks more like a snooker table than a football pitch and experts have described it as perfect.”
There was more bad news for England last night when it emerged that Israel’s first team played the reserves in a full-blown practice match — and LOST 2-1.
