UEFA looks into bribe allegation
Europe’s soccer federation (UEFA) has called for a special report into allegations by Armenian soccer officials that attempts were made to bribe their national team to lose Saturday’s Euro-2004 qualifier with Greece in Yerevan, a UEFA spokesman said yesterday. Greece won 1-0, significantly boosting its hopes of playing in the finals, where it has only appeared once – in 1980. «We have asked the match delegate for a supplementary report, although at this stage there is no formal investigation,» Mike Lee, UEFA’s director of communications, told Reuters. «We will have the report in the next 24 hours and will decide what action to take next based on [the report].» Lee said Armenian officials have submitted no evidence to back their claims. «We are monitoring the situation because a serious allegation has been made in the media which could well be followed up by a formal approach.» Greece’s soccer federation vehemently denies the «stupid» claims, and has called for an investigation to clear its name. (Combined reports)
