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FA risk manager mutiny over proposed friendly clash with Italy in Switzerland
Posted Friday, April 20, 2012 by Dailymail

England are planning a 'home' friendly against Italy in Switzerland in a move that is sure to trigger outrage among club managers.

The game has been earmarked for Berne’s 32,000-seat Stade de Suisse on August 15 - three days before the start of the Barclays Premier League season.

It will be England’s first game against Italy for more than a decade but cannot be held at Wembley because the date set by FIFA comes so soon after the Olympic Games, which end on August 12.

FA risk manager mutiny over proposed friendly clash with Italy in Switzerland
Friendly affair: England plan to play Italy in Switzerland in August

The men’s gold medal match is on August 11 and the FA are investigating the idea of a return to Switzerland, having played a successful friendly in Geneva against Argentina in 2005.

Euro 2012 ends on July 1 and England will be keen on a warm-up game before the World Cup qualifying campaign gets under way in September with a trip to Moldova and a home game against Ukraine.

But FIFA’s traditional August friendly date, which is under threat in the longer term, always provokes anger from club managers.

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    2008SpainGermanyRussia / Turkey
    2004GreecePortugalNetherlands / Czech Republic
    2000FranceItalyNetherlands / Portugal
    1996GermanyCzech RepublicFrance / England
    1992DenmarkGermanyNetherlands / Sweden
    1988NetherlandsSoviet UnionItaly / West Germany
    1984FranceSpainDenmark / Portugal
    1980West GermanyBelgiumCzechoslovakia
    1976CzechoslovakiaWest GermanyNetherlands
    1972West GermanySoviet UnionBelgium
    1968ItalyYugoslaviaEngland
    1964SpainSoviet UnionHungary
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