BISCAN'S INTERNATIONAL CAREER IN TATTERS

Croatia coach Otto Baric has closed the door on Igor Biscan's hopes of playing in this summer's European Championship.
Baric confirmed he would not pick the Liverpool defender for his squad after he failed to show up for a qualifier against Bulgaria last October.

"What Biscan did was very unprofessional," said Baric.

"Biscan will not be considered for selection for the Euro 2004 finals and possibly for the rest of his career for disciplinary reasons."

Biscan walked out on the squad on the eve of their decisive qualifier, apparently unhappy that he was not going to be named in the starting line-up or among the substitutes.

Croatia won the match 1-0 to finish second in the group and they then qualified for Euro 2004 by beating Slovenia in the play-offs.

Croatia will play France, England and Switzerland in their opening group matches in the finals.

After the incident Baric said Biscan would never play for the national team again as long as he was coach, a position endorsed by Croatian FA president Vlatko Markovic.

BBCi