FIFA warns Macedonia not to interfere in sports

FIFA, world football's governing body, issued a warning to the Macedonian government that FIFA and its European counterpart, UEFA, would hand out sanctions unless the government stops what the organisations claim is political interference in sporting matters.

FIFA said in a statement that it condemned "the Macedonian government's repeated interference aimed at undermining the association and its leaders' legitimacy."

The statement warned that Macedonia must "cease all interference in the association's affairs" and although not directly mentioned in the statement, FIFA's ultimate sanction would be to suspend the Macedonian association from all international competitions.

The warning was issued after a meeting between FIFA president Sepp Blatter, newly elected UEFA president Michel Platini, and association delegates,

FIFA and UEFA first expressed concern over the government's actions in January after the closure of the Macedonian FA's offices by the country's ministry of internal affairs.

According to FIFA, the ministry detained several members of the association's management, a move that the sports body claimed violated "the principles of autonomy that apply throughout the sports movement."

FIFA takes a tough stance against any interference in the running of its member associations and regularly suspends countries where it occurs.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.