A sense of outrage followed the announcement by UEFA yesterday that Ireland are being held jointly responsible for the fracas which followed the second leg of the Euro 2000 play-off against Turkey in Bursa on November 17th.

The FAI have confirmed that they will be appealing against a range of sanctions which include:

A four-match international ban on Tony Cascarino for his part in the mini-riot which developed within seconds of the French referee, Gilles Veissiere, sounding the final whistle.

A £5,000 fine on the FAI for Irish involvement in the scuffles which followed the scoreless draw.

Another £5,000 fine for lack of adequate crowd control in the first leg game at Lansdowne Road on November 13th with specific reference to the setting off of fireworks and the throwing of objects.

A fine of £1,500 on Steve Staunton for remarks he is alleged to have made to the referee, Anfres Frist of Sweden at the end of the game.

The sanctions imposed on the Turkish Federation include a fine of £7,500 for inadequate crowd control in Bursa, another £5,000 for their share of the responsibility for the after-match scenes and a two-match ban on their defender, Ali Eren Beserler.

It is the last element of the package which incenses the FAI most, for in their estimation, and that of many Irish supporters at the game, Cascarino was the innocent party in the skirmish involving Beserler, after he had attempted to shake hands with the Turkish player.

Minutes before the game ended, the pair clashed after the ball ran over the back line but in each instance, the Irish contention is that Beserler was the aggressor.

"The FAI will certainly be appealing this decision," said chief executive, Bernard O'Byrne. "Anyone who saw the incidents realised that we had to send in our own security people to rescue three of our players, Tony Cascarino, Damien Duff and Roy Keane. To suggest that Tony Cascarino is guilty when, in fact, he was merely defending himself, is unjust."

Coincidentally, Cascarino announced his retirement from international football after the game and to that extent the suspension will have no real effect. It is understood, however, that the French-based striker intends to fight to clear his name.

In a preamble to the range of sanctions they were imposing, UEFA described the incident thus: "After the final whistle, there was a scuffle between the player, Tony Cascarino (No 12, IRL) and the player, Ali Eren Beserler (NO 2, TUR). Immediately afterwards, a fight between players from both teams started. The referees' team, police officers, team officials and other people rushed to the players to separate them.

"All of a sudden, there was a mass of players and other people, some trying to fight, some trying to separate the players. After about a minute of so, it was all over."