THE FA has invited Urs Meier to the Cup Final in May in a goodwill gesture. Given his fear of English supporters, the retired Swiss referee is taking his time before he replies.
The offer from the FA was preceded by a letter from Sven-Göran Eriksson, who wrote of his dismay at the hate campaign against Meier last month after having been informed of the scale of abuse.
The England head coach said that he wanted to “express my sadness that you and your family were subjected to such intense pressure from the media, which resulted in the many thousands of e-mails and telephone calls you received”.
Meier said that he was grateful for the message of sympathy, but he believes that the FA and Uefa should have acted much more speedily. “It is a letter, yes, but the FA should have said something to the press to stop the campaign much sooner,” he said. “You can’t stop the story running for one or two days, but in their position, they can stop a campaign like this.
“I read that David Beckham said, ‘Please stop,’ but he said no more. And there was nothing from Uefa. They could have said it was the correct decision, but there was nothing on the internet or in the newspapers. I was left on my own.”
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As for the FA Cup Final, Meier is fearful that he will upset people whatever he decides to do. He has not dared to set foot in Britain since Euro 2004 and although he would like to travel to Cardiff in May, he knows that he may have to go incognito.
“I hope to work for Uefa and Fifa in the next few years and I could have a lot to do with the English FA,” he said. “I have not had any problem with the English FA or managers or players in the past. But I have a lot of things to consider before I decide if I can come to the Cup Final. If I say no, they will say, ‘Why? We give him the hand and he rejects it.’ If I go, I certainly won’t go on the pitch.
“There is still a lot of aggression against me. This game in Portugal is still very deep in the heart of the English supporters. One newspaper wrote that I will always be regarded as a monster when I come to England. I don’t want any more trouble.”