NORTH-EAST football fans will be able to attend England's next big match in the region after a surprising reprieve by the game's European bosses last night.

The Football Association had been expecting to be ordered to play the Euro 2004 qualifier with Slovakia on June 11 at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium behind closed doors after crowd trouble at the fixture with Turkey at Sunderland last month.

But the FA escaped with a £68,000 fine from UEFA, European football's governing body, lifting a cloud that had hung over the biggest occasion in the Riverside's eight-year history.

It prompted celebrations at the cash-strapped FA, who stood to miss out on £2m in revenue if fans were banned from the game, and across Teesside as Middlesbrough looked forward to staging the showpiece occasion.

Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb said: "We welcome UEFA's decision. The fact that the game will not be played behind closed doors is great news for the club, the people of Teesside and genuine England fans.

"With a capacity crowd, we are sure June 11 will prove to be a great day in the history of the Middlesbrough Football Club.

"We have continued to plan for the big day in much the same way as we had before UEFA charged the FA, and those preparations are now well advanced.

"We will be working very closely with the FA and the police to ensure there is no repeat of the problems that occurred around the game at the Stadium of Light."

Business leaders were equally jubilant yesterday and predicted a boost for the Teesside economy from the match - the first international to be staged in Middlesbrough for 66 years.

"I think it comes as a relief and a tremendous one-off boost to the local economy," said Neil Etherington, head of the Tees Valley Development Company.

Alistair Arkley, chairman of the Tees Valley Partnership, said: "I am delighted because it did look dodgy. It does mean there will be a lot of people staying in the area.

"It will bring a lot of fans in from elsewhere. That will help the pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants."

* Ticket sales for the match had been delayed until the outcome of UEFA's disciplinary hearing, but they will now be available on May 15 at £25, £35 and £45.