Poland demands FIFA drop ultimatum
October 05, 2008 00:00:00
WARSAW, Oct 4 (AFP): oland's Sports Ministry demanded Friday that FIFA drop its Monday deadline for the reinstatement of the suspended national football federation (PZPN) in a row which could see Poland serve a two-match World Cup ban.
"The talks between the Ministry of Sport and Tourism and the Polish Football Union will not be resumed until FIFA retracts its ultimatum," senior Polish sports ministry official Adam Giersz said Friday, quoted by the Polish PAP news agency.
Giersz spoke after the latest in a string of inconclusive crisis talks Friday between sports ministry officials and the deposed PZPN board.
The world football governing body FIFA Wednesday gave Poland until Monday midday to reinstate PZPN officials ousted by an Polish Olympic committee arbitration court or face Poland being banned from 2010 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for October 11 and 15.
FIFA told AFP Friday night it had not changed its position and the Monday noon deadline remained in effect.
Both FIFA and its European counterpart UEFA have refused to recognise Robert Zawlocki, appointed by the arbitration court as an administrator to replace the deposed PZPN board.
But Friday Zawlocki told Polish media he had no intention of stepping down.
"The arbitration tribunal appointed me and only it has the power to remove me," he said.
UEFA also reacted strongly to the situation in Poland, set to co-host the next UEFA European football championships in 2012 with Ukraine.
William Gaillard, UEFA's director of communications and advisor to president Michel Platini, told AFP Friday: "Our patience has its limits and we are close to them.
"One of the conditions of allowing Ukraine and Poland to host Euro 2012 was that both football federations had good relations with their respective governments. In Poland, this condition has not been met.
"The dismissal of Polish football federation officials and the appointment of an administrator is intolerable government intervention, and, moreover, the government has cancelled the federation's elections."
