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FOOTBALL

Swiss fume over FIFA punishments

story.huggel.jpg
Huggel's kick at Turkey's assistant coach Mehmet Ozdilek has cost him a six-game ban.

GENEVA, Switzerland -- Switzerland reacted with fury on Wednesday to punishments handed out by FIFA for violence at a World Cup qualifier against Turkey.

The Swiss press almost unanimously declared the Swiss punishments too harsh -- notably a six-game ban for Benjamin Huggel, meaning he will almost certainly miss the entire World Cup -- and Turkey's penalties too lenient.

"A 200,000 franc fine -- that's laughable! Six match bans for Turkey -- that's mild!" said the Zurich-based daily Blick.

Turkey won the game in Istanbul 4-2 but Switzerland advanced on away goals, sparking scuffles between players and coaching staff in the tunnel on the way to the locker room.

FIFA on Tuesday ordered Turkey to play its next six competitive home matches at neutral venues without fans and pay a 200,000 Swiss franc (US$154,000) fine for violence at the World Cup playoff last November.

Three Turkish players were banned for six games and FIFA also suspended Turkey's assistant coach, Mehmet Ozdilek, from "any football-related activity" for a year.

Swiss physiotherapist Stephan Meyer was suspended for two matches and fined 6,500 Swiss francs (US$5,000).

The harshness of Huggel's punishment "surprises and disconcerts me," Swiss coach Koebi Kuhn told Blick, although the soccer association has not yet indicated whether it will appeal against the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"Turkey has hardly been punished and has doesn't have to pay any more for all the events surrounding the playoff match in Istanbul," said French-language daily Tribune de Geneve, taking aim at Turkey coach Fatih Terim.

"Unbelievably, the aggressor Fatih Terim, who incited the fans and his players, comes away unpunished and can sleep peacefully again," the newspaper added.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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