Ukraine will begin legal proceedings if allegations that it bribed football officials to win the UEFA bid to host the 2012 European Football Championships continue, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Boris Kolesnikov said on Monday.
The comment came after former board member of the Football Association of Cyprus, Spyros Marangos, said five members of the UEFA board received a total of 11 million euros in exchange for votes cast in favor of Poland and Ukraine to host Euro 2012. UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino rejected the allegations.
"The issue is not about somebody's foolishness, the issue is about the image and the prestige of our country. Any country could be discredited this way," Kolesnikov said.
Ukraine has not bribed anybody, he emphasized, saying that Western courts would put Marangos "in his place."
The joint bid by Poland and Ukraine was chosen by the UEFA's Executive Committee on April 18, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales, defeating the other shortlisted bids from Italy and Croatia/Hungary. The Poland/Ukraine bid received a total of eight votes and Italy received the remaining four while the Croatia/Hungary bid failed to win a single vote.
Italy demanded an official investigation over the recent allegations.
UEFA insist they will only open an investigation if evidence is produced.
KIEV, November 1 (RIA Novosti)
