British Pull Out of Match on Hitler’s Birthday : Soccer: English Football Assn. cancels game scheduled for April 20 in Berlin on grounds that it would attract neo-Fascist elements.

A controversial soccer match scheduled between the British and German national teams in Berlin on Adolf Hitler’s birthday was called off Wednesday.

The game, which was to have been played on April 20, was canceled by the English Football Assn. on the grounds that it would attract neo-Fascist elements from Britain and Germany, and perhaps from elsewhere in Europe, to the stadium built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympic Games.

German soccer authorities were furious over the cancellation, declaring that it played into the hands of far-right-wing groups by showing their power to stop a game between soccer superpowers.

Germany is the current World Cup holder, and the game was considered an important warm-up before Germany defends its title this summer in the United States. England’s soccer team is still enduring the humiliation of not having qualified for the 1994 World Cup finals.

Sports commentators in Britain said late Wednesday it seemed inexplicable that the “friendly” match had been scheduled for a day recognized as the birth date of Hitler, who was born in 1889.

A friendly match is one played outside of competition for qualification for the World Cup or the European Championship, each held every four years.

Sir Bert Millichip, F.A. chairman, confirmed in announcing the decision that government intelligence reports indicated the match could be the focus for both right-wing and left-wing demonstrations.

“We have been fully aware of the risk of disorder for the past few months,” he said Wednesday, “but we had hoped that those risks might recede. Unfortunately, they have not, and it was the executive committee’s decision that those risks were too high.”

Millichip said British authorities had offered the Germans a change of venue to Wembley Stadium in London, but this was declined.

“It’s sad news, but I do feel that in the circumstances, it’s the correct decision,” British Coach Terry Venables said.

A new date for the match--dubbed the “Hitler match” by the British press--has not been set.

Graham Kelly, the F.A. chief executive, denied that his organization had handed a victory to the neo-Fascist organizations. “We understand that viewpoint,” he said. “But in our opinion, even small risks are too great.”

In Germany, former team manager Franz Beckenbauer said he agreed with the “sensible” decision.

But the decision came as a slap in the face to Berlin’s sports and security authorities. Before the decision, Egidius Braun, president of the German Football Assn., had declared: “We are not going to chicken out. If we capitulate, the negative consequences for the sport and society would be far-reaching.”

The match was originally scheduled for Hamburg, but that city, realizing the implications of the date, pulled out, and Berlin offered to stage the game instead.

German neo-Nazis already had been calling their members to arms with the slogan: “The Battle of the Century.” And a pro-Nazi rally was reportedly scheduled for April 18.

Leftists smashed windows and threw acid into the offices of the Berlin soccer authority two weeks ago.