Ukrainian hoteliers who are charging exorbitant prices for lodging during the Euro 2012 soccer championship are "bandits and crooks," said Michel Platini, the head of European soccer federation UEFA, amid growing concerns over the price of accommodation.
"It's annoying to have made a lot of investment and then say to people that they can't come because there are bandits and crooks who want to make a lot of money during this Euro (championship)," the BBC quoted Platini, who on Thursday was on a visit to the western Ukrainian host city of Lvov, as saying.
"You cannot raise prices from 40 euros ($52.48) to 100 euros to 500 euros from one day to the next," he added.
"I think that the authorities are there to make sure that things are respected," he added.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich this month ordered his government to investigate price hikes and ensure hotel rates are at an "economically reasonable" level during the championship.
"We will be preparing to the last night and will welcome (guests and participants) the way it should be done," Yanukovich said in a statement on Thursday.
With the tournament kicking off in Poland on June 8, Lvov will host its first Group B match between Germany and Portugal on June 9.
