Greece could lose FIFAPro ceremony as part of ban

In addition to its shrinking international football status, Greece could lose the right to host the 2006 World XI Player Awards Gala if the nation's dispute with FIFA is not resolved.

FIFPro secretary general Theo van Seggelen has warned that Athens could lose its right to host the ceremony, as FIFA suspended the HFF for failing to guarantee its independence from government control.

The World XI Awards, scheduled for November 6, is the flagship event of FIFPro, which is the worldwide representative organisation for all professional players. Athens was granted the right to host the 2006 event in March, but Van Seggelen has stated that this will be removed if the HFF does not break its deadlock with FIFA by July 15.

"Of course it is a problem and as long as the Greek federation is suspended we cannot have the gala in Athens," Van Seggelen said. "We have already had a meeting with organisers and explained to them that a country that is suspended cannot have the gala. The deadline is July 15 and our board will make a decision after that."

Immediately after the conclusion of the World Cup, roughly 40,000 players will be asked by FIFPro to cast their vote for the best players in the game, and he will be unveiled at the Awards. The inaugural event, held in London last year, had Spanish FC Barcelona's Ronaldinho elected by his colleagues as the best player in the world.

The ban imposed by FIFA prevents the Greece national team, HFF member clubs, players and officials from taking part in any international contact until further notice.

FIFA said it could overturn the suspension if the Greek government passes new legislation, and the government has said it will make the necessary legislative changes. The government aims to have a draft of the new legislation "in FIFA's hands" by next Thursday.

FIFPro discussed the problems in Greek football with the nation's authorities during a meeting in March. Van Seggelen visited George Orfanos, the Greek Deputy Minister of Culture with responsibilities for sport, together with Antonis Antoniadis and Maria Tsigoni from the Greek players union PSAP.

"At the moment when we decided to hold the gala in Greece we discussed the conditions under which we could hold it," Van Seggelen said. "One of these conditions was that the situation of the Greek players had to be the same as other players in EU countries. We cannot afford to have a gala in a country where players rights are denied."

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