Poles no longer apart — for now
The decision to award Euro 2012 to Poland and Ukraine continues to look ever more foolish as political issues overshadow the event.
Poland's status as hosts was plunged into major doubt when its national football association was suspended by the Polish government and an administrator put into place.
FIFA and UEFA received documents on Monday suggesting the Polish FA board would be reinstated, but there is still a long way to go before soccer fans hoping for another successful European Championship can breathe easy.
Ironically, the selection of Poland and Ukraine itself was largely spawned by political factors.
Italy was by far the most sensible choice to host the tournament, yet was denied as it was felt awarding them hosting rights so soon after the Italian match-fixing scandal would send the wrong message. However, the current situation is potentially far more damaging.
Poland and Ukraine have already fallen behind certain deadlines regarding the readiness of venues and since it is unclear who is really running Polish football, there is no one to pin responsibility. UEFA should strip Euro 2012 away from Poland and allow a nation with a proper administrative structure to step in.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
"It's extremely difficult to organize the Euros in Poland and Ukraine. If we made them stick to the commitments they signed in April 2007, they would be in trouble, terrible trouble, already. We've done absolutely everything and more to make sure they can organize it, and the first thing they do is deceive our trust and go back on a commitment they made a year and a half ago to FIFA."
FIFA spokesman William Gaillard on the problems surrounding Euro 2012.
