Poland faces Euro 2008 exclusion

Polish soccer officials fear the national side will be axed from Euro 2008 after FIFA and UEFA warned on Monday they would take action over a row with the government.

The trouble started on Friday when Polish Sports Minister Tomasz Lipiec suspended the board of the national football association and appointed Andrzej Rusko as a commissioner in its place following new arrests in a match-fixing investigation.

FIFA, who resent government involvement in soccer matters, issued a strongly-worded statement on Monday saying action would be taken for what it called Warsaw's "interference".

"As the national team, we are very concerned that FIFA may suspend us from competing. We are playing very well, we have every chance of qualifying for Euro 2008," said national team spokesman Kazimierz Oleszek.
Source:news.xinhuanet.com