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The Canadian Press
Feb 6 2010
UEFA to keep former foes Russia and Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
apart for Euro draw
By Nesha Starcevic (CP) ` 5 hours ago
WARSAW, Poland ' Russia and Georgia and Armenia and Azerbaijan will be
kept apart in the draw for the qualifying tournament for the 2012
European Championship, ensuring the former war foes will not play
against each other in the qualifying stages.
The procedure for Sunday's draw specified that neither Russia or
Georgia or Armenia and Azerbaijan can be drawn in the same group.
"It's precisely because we don't want to mix sport and politics," UEFA
president Michel Platini said Saturday. "It's a very good decision."
Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in August 2008, while Armenia
and Azerbaijan are in dispute over a contested enclave and have no
diplomatic relations.
Armenia and Azerbaijan were drawn in the same qualifying group for
Euro 2008 but did not play and Platini said then it was a mistake to
have grouped them together.
"They didn't want to play each other and we did not want to have the
same situation again," Platini said.
Armenia and Azerbaijan had back-to-back matches cancelled in 2007
after the two failed to agree on a neutral venue. No points were
awarded for the matches and both teams failed to qualify for Euro 2008
in Switzerland and Austria.
UEFA and FIFA, which run European and world football, said then they
would try to keep nations with tense relations apart for future
qualifying tournaments.
Armenia and Azerbaijan remain in dispute over the territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside Azerbaijan but has been controlled -
along with some surrounding areas - by local and Armenian forces since
1994.
Sunday's draw in Warsaw's imposing Palace of Culture and Sciences will
divide the 51 teams in the running to qualify for the tournament into
nine groups.
There will be six groups of six teams and three groups of five. The
nine winners and the runner-up with the best record qualify directly
for the final tournament. The remaining eight runners-up will go into
a home-and-away playoff round that will be played in November 2011.
Four teams in those playoffs will be seeded.
As co-hosts, Poland and Ukraine qualify for the tournament automatically.
"We are certain that we will have a very good European championship,"
Platini said of the tournament.
Although construction delays and other infrastructure problems have
plagued preparations for the tournament in four Polish and four
Ukrainian cities, Platini said the two host nations were "working
well."
"There are things to improve but we still have two years to work and
no major problems," he said. "There is a lot of enthusiasm and the
Euro will be a success."
UEFA still hasn't decided on the venue of one quarter-final in Ukraine
because of delays in renovating airports and adding more hotel
capacity, Platini said.
Platini said both Poland and Ukraine had been severely hit by the
global economic downturn and that political instability compounded the
problems in Ukraine.
"Maybe it will be easier after the (presidential) election," Platini
said. The runoff ballot is Sunday, the day of the draw.
Qualifying for the tournament starts in September and runs until November 2011.
The draw ceremony will mark the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union
winning the first European championship and the scene fits the
occasion. Once the tallest building in Europe, the Palace of Culture
and Sciences was a gift of the Soviet Union to the people of Poland.
Former Polish stars Zbigniew Boniek and Andrzej Szarmach will help
with the draw and will be joined by former Ukraine star Oleh Blokhin
and striker Andriy Shevchenko.
The nine top-seeded teams are led by defending champion Spain, plus
Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France and
Russia.
Seedings pots:
Pot 1: Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal,
France, Russia.
Pot 2: Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey,
Denmark, Slovakia, Romania.
Pot 3: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Northern
Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Pot 4: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales,
Macedonia, Cyprus.
Pot 5: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland,
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.
Pot 6: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faeroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino.
Feb 6 2010
UEFA to keep former foes Russia and Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
apart for Euro draw
By Nesha Starcevic (CP) ` 5 hours ago
WARSAW, Poland ' Russia and Georgia and Armenia and Azerbaijan will be
kept apart in the draw for the qualifying tournament for the 2012
European Championship, ensuring the former war foes will not play
against each other in the qualifying stages.
The procedure for Sunday's draw specified that neither Russia or
Georgia or Armenia and Azerbaijan can be drawn in the same group.
"It's precisely because we don't want to mix sport and politics," UEFA
president Michel Platini said Saturday. "It's a very good decision."
Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in August 2008, while Armenia
and Azerbaijan are in dispute over a contested enclave and have no
diplomatic relations.
Armenia and Azerbaijan were drawn in the same qualifying group for
Euro 2008 but did not play and Platini said then it was a mistake to
have grouped them together.
"They didn't want to play each other and we did not want to have the
same situation again," Platini said.
Armenia and Azerbaijan had back-to-back matches cancelled in 2007
after the two failed to agree on a neutral venue. No points were
awarded for the matches and both teams failed to qualify for Euro 2008
in Switzerland and Austria.
UEFA and FIFA, which run European and world football, said then they
would try to keep nations with tense relations apart for future
qualifying tournaments.
Armenia and Azerbaijan remain in dispute over the territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside Azerbaijan but has been controlled -
along with some surrounding areas - by local and Armenian forces since
1994.
Sunday's draw in Warsaw's imposing Palace of Culture and Sciences will
divide the 51 teams in the running to qualify for the tournament into
nine groups.
There will be six groups of six teams and three groups of five. The
nine winners and the runner-up with the best record qualify directly
for the final tournament. The remaining eight runners-up will go into
a home-and-away playoff round that will be played in November 2011.
Four teams in those playoffs will be seeded.
As co-hosts, Poland and Ukraine qualify for the tournament automatically.
"We are certain that we will have a very good European championship,"
Platini said of the tournament.
Although construction delays and other infrastructure problems have
plagued preparations for the tournament in four Polish and four
Ukrainian cities, Platini said the two host nations were "working
well."
"There are things to improve but we still have two years to work and
no major problems," he said. "There is a lot of enthusiasm and the
Euro will be a success."
UEFA still hasn't decided on the venue of one quarter-final in Ukraine
because of delays in renovating airports and adding more hotel
capacity, Platini said.
Platini said both Poland and Ukraine had been severely hit by the
global economic downturn and that political instability compounded the
problems in Ukraine.
"Maybe it will be easier after the (presidential) election," Platini
said. The runoff ballot is Sunday, the day of the draw.
Qualifying for the tournament starts in September and runs until November 2011.
The draw ceremony will mark the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union
winning the first European championship and the scene fits the
occasion. Once the tallest building in Europe, the Palace of Culture
and Sciences was a gift of the Soviet Union to the people of Poland.
Former Polish stars Zbigniew Boniek and Andrzej Szarmach will help
with the draw and will be joined by former Ukraine star Oleh Blokhin
and striker Andriy Shevchenko.
The nine top-seeded teams are led by defending champion Spain, plus
Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France and
Russia.
Seedings pots:
Pot 1: Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal,
France, Russia.
Pot 2: Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey,
Denmark, Slovakia, Romania.
Pot 3: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Northern
Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Pot 4: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales,
Macedonia, Cyprus.
Pot 5: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland,
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.
Pot 6: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faeroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino.