MIDDLESBROUGH Football Club, and the wider community of the Tees Valley, will be hugely disappointed if the next England game at the Riverside Stadium is to be played behind closed doors.

The match against Slovakia will be the first time since 1937 that England have played on Teesside. It will probably be the last, too, as the new Wembley is being built.

The lock-out will not tackle the racists, the bigots and the rioters who marred England's visit to Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

But hopefully it will give the English authorities a jolt.

In March, 35 'fans' were arrested in Switzerland and Liechtenstein in scenes that shamed England. None of them were prosecuted.

At the Stadium of Light there were 106 arrests. Only 14 people have appeared in court so far, mostly charged with minor offences. If the trouble is to be stopped, the troublemakers must be caught and punished.

Finally, David Beckham and the players must consider their role. When England scored their first goal at the Stadium of Light, they ran to the touchline to celebrate in front of the cameras. This sparked a pitch invasion.

When Beckham scored a second goal, he ran to the same part of the pitch to celebrate. This caused another pitch invasion, for which England - and Middlesbrough - may now be penalised. Not very bright.