UEFA may reconsider Euro 2008 venue

UEFA have warned hosts Austria and Switzerland they face losing the right to stage the 2008 European Championships if they fail to solve organisational problems - and it could be rescheduled for Ireland and Scotland.

The European governing body sent a letter to the Austrian and Swiss football associations after the executive committee agreed that “stronger political commitment” was needed from the Austrian and Swiss authorities.

UEFA’s director of communications William Gaillard confirmed action has been demanded by the end of November, and an internal meeting, scheduled for February 2005, will look at the response from the two countries.

If the difficulties have not been erased by then, they may then consider handing the showpiece to one of the candidates who lost out in the original race - including Scotland-Ireland.

“The letter was sent about 10 days ago, but someone else leaked it to the press,” said Gaillard.

“The content of the letter was asking them to show us some positive reports of progression. “Things are not moving on like they did with Euro 2004, and we received instructions from the executive committee to act.”

UEFA president Lennart Johansson and chief executive Lars Olsson were quoted as saying in the letter, which was seen by the Swiss weekly newspaper SonntagsZeitung: “UEFA could decide that defeated candidates be given the opportunity to contest the decision to award Euro 2008 to Austria and Switzerland.”

Problems came to a head when it was revealed last month planning permission for the development of Zurich’s Hardturm Stadium had been blocked on the grounds of traffic congestion and will therefore not be ready for pre-tournament testing in summer 2007.

Though the possibility of finding another Swiss venue has been explored, the likelihood is that games will be spread over seven venues, instead of the eight agreed when signing to apply for the tournament.

Gaillard added: “All sorts of things have been said, but what we want is a clear idea of where we stand.”

The tournament faces further problems, with the lack of a law on the illegal sale of tickets and the absence of protection for commercial and property rights also major issues that need to be addressed.

UEFA also seek clarification on the security budget, and confirmation that stadia will be cleared of all advertising publicity in time for the tournament.