UEFA President Michel Platini has said that if the Olympiysky Sports Complex in Kyiv is not made ready to stage matches of the Euro 2012 Football Championship, Ukraine may be stripped of its right to co-host the championship.
Unless the stadium in Kyiv is completed, the capital city will not take part in the championship, Platini told reporters in Brussels on Monday, referring to the Executive Committee’s decision.
"If there is no Kyiv, there will be no Ukraine. This decision was passed at the Executive Committee’s meeting. No capital, no Ukraine. If Lviv were not ready, that would be different. We would be able to search for solutions," he said.
Platini said that in ten days he would visit Ukraine to meet with a new president and new government and receive more guarantees.
"But I’m really worried because the construction of the stadium in Kyiv has not moved an inch. I am worried, but I trust. We can still get four stadiums in Ukraine. There is no plan B. We have never thought of Germany [as a replacement for Ukraine]. Anyway, the committee decided that the scheme could be "4+2." We can still do it. But we trust in Ukraine and we think that we will have the same scheme in Ukraine as in Poland. Therefore, we hope for four stadiums," he said.
As reported, the UEFA senior management led by Platini will visit Ukraine on April 7-8.
