Gullit Quits Dutch Team, Dims World Cup Hopes

NOORDWIJK, Netherlands -- Ruud Gullit, the dreadlocked Dutch star who is one of soccer's most charismatic figures, has allowed his ego to ruin his reputation and, possibly, the World Cup hopes of the Netherlands.Monday, three weeks before Holland's first World Cup match, Gullit quit the team because of his continuing feud with Dick Advocaat, the Dutch coach.That squabble appeared to have been patched up last week when Gullit ended a 13-month self-imposed exile from the Dutch team and agreed to play against Scotland.The Netherlands won 3-1, but Gullit, 31, was taken off at halftime and later criticized the team's style of play and its tactics.But with the World Cup around the corner, Gullit, the European and World player of the year in 1987, relented and Holland's already good chance of winning the tournament improved considerably.The effect of Gullit's departure is clear. "He has hurt us by leaving this way," said Ronald Koeman, the Dutch captain. "It's a slap in the face. The players were amazed."That pathetic squabble about fences at three of the World Cup stadiums has taken a ludicrous turn.Tuesday, FIFA president Joao Havelange and general secretary Joseph "Sepp" Blatter were to visit the White House in Washington for a meeting with President Bill Clinton.According to reports, they will ask Clinton to intervene in the dispute that has pitted World Cup organizers against police and security officials in Washington, Dallas and Palo Alto, California.All three cities insist on erecting fences around the fields at as a means of keeping fans from invading the field. World Cup chairman Alan Rothenberg is confident that terrorists, thugs and hooligans will be kept away from soccer's big event.But he sounded less certain about the ability of local police, faced with chanting hordes of foreigners fired up by a largely alien sport, to tell a holidaymaker from a hooligan.Rothenberg expressed "great concern" that police may "confuse the natural enthusiasm and celebrations of fans and take drastic action."The omens, with less than a month to the June 17 kickoff in Chicago, do not look overly encouraging.One reserve police officer, playing the role of a troublemaker during a World Cup training exercise near San Francisco last month, was accidentally shot dead by a colleague.Some soccer officials worry that fans might stray into neighborhoods made dangerous by drugs, drive-by shootings and gang violence and clash with local residents. (LAT, Reuters)