A PLANE carrying Gillingham midfielder Andrew Crofts was among 73 passengers travelling to Prague forced to make an emergency landing at Bournemouth on Thursday afternoon.

Wales players, coaching staff and members of the media were flying out to the Czech Republic capital for a Euro 2008 qualifier this Saturday when the plane’s windscreen cracked.

The crack appeared about 20 minutes after take-off from Cardiff airport and the plane redirected to Bournemouth.

A FAW spokesman said: "There was no bang or explosion or anything. The players were all right and were still playing cards - it takes a lot to disrupt the card school.’

The squad finally arrived in Prague after boarding a new flight.