The much-lauded joint bid by Greece and Turkey to host the 2008 European soccer championship appeared headed for more trouble when the president of the Greek Soccer Federation (EPO) reacted angrily to Turkish demands that the breakaway Turkish-Cypriot republic be included in the tournament.

“It is a pity for us to waste the money of the Greek people for nothing. Let’s call it off now,” EPO president Nikos Gagatsis told ERA, the state sport radio station. He was responding to a report on Tuesday that Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit had questioned the joint bid, with Ecevit reportedly saying, “Greece is sidelining the Turkish-Cypriot republic. This will be a problem during the organization.”

Gagatsis rejected the possibility that the breakaway republic, which is recognized only by Turkey, could part in the championship. “There is not a chance in a million of this taking place. This action was taken for domestic consumption in Turkey,” he said of Ecevit’s call.