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UEFA PLEDGES AID TO SOLVE SOCCER DISPUTE BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
AP Worldstream
Apr 04, 2006
The head of Europe's soccer federation UEFA on Tuesday offered to
help settle a dispute between the national teams of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, which have been unable to agree on where to play each
other in qualifiers for the 2008 European Championship.
Armenia, at odds with its neighbor over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh,
an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, said it was ready to
host the game in its capital Yerevan and also play in Baku. Azerbaijan,
however, has refused to host Armenian players and called for a neutral
venue for the games.
"We understand that there are problems with security," UEFA chief
executive Lars Olsson said on an official visit to Yerevan, adding
that the soccer dispute should not be politicized. He said UEFA was
ready to set up a special commission to investigate the situation.
The soccer federations in ex-Soviet Moldova and Georgia have offered
to be hosts.
A cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan was reached in
1994 after six years of fighting, and the enclave is now under the
control of ethnic Armenians.
AP Worldstream
Apr 04, 2006
The head of Europe's soccer federation UEFA on Tuesday offered to
help settle a dispute between the national teams of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, which have been unable to agree on where to play each
other in qualifiers for the 2008 European Championship.
Armenia, at odds with its neighbor over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh,
an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, said it was ready to
host the game in its capital Yerevan and also play in Baku. Azerbaijan,
however, has refused to host Armenian players and called for a neutral
venue for the games.
"We understand that there are problems with security," UEFA chief
executive Lars Olsson said on an official visit to Yerevan, adding
that the soccer dispute should not be politicized. He said UEFA was
ready to set up a special commission to investigate the situation.
The soccer federations in ex-Soviet Moldova and Georgia have offered
to be hosts.
A cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan was reached in
1994 after six years of fighting, and the enclave is now under the
control of ethnic Armenians.