Ukraine’s sports minister has demanded an explanation from his Polish counterpart over comments by the country’s new FA president suggesting Poland could stage Euro 2012 alone or in tandem with Germany.
Newly elected Polish Football Association (PZPN) president Grzegorz Lato said on Thursday that such a solution would be possible in the event that Ukraine was unable to co-host the tournament.
“I have officially demanded an explanation from my colleague, the Polish minister of sports, for the statements that were made,” Sports Minister Yuri Pavlenko told a news conference.
“Such comments should not be made. Poland and Ukraine are one team preparing for Euro 2012. Two states—one tournament.”
Both countries have been criticised by UEFA for the slow progress they are making in preparing for the tournament.
UEFA President Michel Platini warned in September that if the two countries did not speed up preparations they risked losing the tournament.
UEFA said on Friday it had no comment to make regarding Lato’s statement or the Ukrainian sports minister’s response.
Better news in Ukraine comes with the appointment of a new designer to rebuild Kiev’s Olympic stadium, due to host the final, after months of legal rows and wrangling over the original winner of the tender.
A second stadium is now in doubt in the western city of Lviv after an Austrian firm pulled out, saying it could not complete the venue within budget constraints set by local authorities.
A senior official within the Ukrainian agency overseeing preparations said that the global financial crisis had brought a halt to 80 percent of projects in hotel construction. He denied news reports on Thursday quoting him as saying that 80 percent of construction projects in all fields were on hold.
Read Gavin Hamilton on the latest developments in Poland and the Ukraine
