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Poland could lose Euro 2012
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Polish football is suffering
on and off the pitch [GALLO/GETTY]
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Poland risks losing the right to co-host Euro 2012 after
FIFA and UEFA said that football's governing bodies do not recognise the
administrator appointed by the Polish government to run the country's
FA.
The management board of the Polish FA was suspended on Monday by the country's
arbitration tribunal at the request of Warsaw's sports ministry in an
anti-corruption drive.
Lawyer Robert Zawlocki was appointed as an administrator in their place
- but FIFA and UEFA said he would be "ignored".
Measures
"FIFA and UEFA will immediately start joint consultation to decide
the measures to be taken regarding the PZPN (FA) and the future of Polish
football," FIFA and UEFA said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
"(It will) be proposed to the forthcoming meeting of the FIFA executive
committee in Zurich on October 23 to 24."
A FIFA spokesman confirmed that under their rules one of the range of
measures available to the world governing body is suspension from all
levels of the game.
If suspended, Poland risk losing the right to co-host Euro 2012 alongside
Ukraine.
"We cannot speculate on what might or might not happen. We must wait
and see what happens at the meeting next month," a UEFA spokesman
said.
"But this is the most serious situation that can happen and, of course,
we are very concerned about the situation since Poland is hosting Euro
2012."
Legitimate
The joint statement said the suspended board was still the only legitimate
authority.
"FIFA and UEFA continue to recognise the current leadership of the
PZPN chaired by Michal Listkiewicz as the only legitimate authority to
run football in Poland and to represent it internationally," the
FIFA/UEFA statement said.
"As a consequence, any letter, correspondence and/or communication...that
is signed under the authority of Mr Robert Zawlocki, will be ignored and
considered irrelevant."
FIFA rules do not allow government interference in the running of its
associations.
Poland was warned in 2007 it risked suspension after the government appointed
a commissioner as head of the FA in a previous crackdown on corruption.
english.aljazeera.net,
September 30, 2008
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