EUROPEAN football's governing body Uefa warned Poland yesterday that it risked being stripped of the right to co-host Euro 2012 if it failed to reinstate its football association by Monday.
"Our patience has limits and we are very close to the limit," said William Gaillard, special advisor to Uefa president Michel Platini.
"We are standing firm with Fifa. If the (Polish] FA is not reinstated by Monday's deadline then we will have
serious discussions about the future of Euro 2012. We will not wait any longer.
"But the rules are clear, we offered Euro 2012 to the FA, not the government, so if the FA are not in place or suspended then they are not in a position to host the tournament," he added. The Polish FA (PZPN) has been preparing to host Uefa's 2012 European Championship finals with neighbours Ukraine. Last week, both nations were given a reprieve after a report criticised their lack of progress in preparing to hold the event.
"Last Friday we gave Poland another chance and then there was this coup on Monday. It is very annoying," Gaillard said. "We have done everything we can for Poland and Ukraine. We have bent over backwards to help them and this makes us very unhappy."
If the event was to be taken away from Poland and Ukraine the Scottish Football Association has confirmed it will investigate the possibility of bidding to become the replacement hosts.
Poland's arbitration tribunal suspended the PZPN board and named an administrator on Monday after Sports Minister Miroslaw Drzewiecki filed a motion saying it had violated the law in a number of cases. Fifa statutes forbid government intervention in football affairs and the world governing body said earlier in the week that Poland must reinstate the PZNP by 10am on Monday or risk being suspended from this month's two World Cup qualifying matches.
"We are standing firm with Uefa. Our warning and deadline still stands," a Fifa spokesman said yesterday.
Poland are scheduled to play Czech Republic on 11 October and Slovakia four days later in European qualifying Group Three, which the team lead with four points from two games.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk backed his sports minister, saying the administrator should stay in place, while administrator Robert Zawlocki said he would not step down.
"I will support Minister Drzewiecki in this matter," said Tusk. "Sometimes a tough stand is needed and this can be costly. I am sure Minister Drzewiecki will not dismiss the administrator
"Polish football cannot be healed with such a dismissal.
"And why do we need qualifiers that we will lose anyway if Polish football doesn't change?"
The full article contains 448 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
