Romania investigates Euro 2012 corruption allegations
Reuters - Friday 29 October 2010, 13:54
BUCHAREST - Anti-corruption officers in
Romania (DNA) began an investigation on Friday into alleged
corruption related to UEFA's decision to award Poland and
Ukraine the Euro 2012 championship.
The investigation follows claims made by a former official
of the Cyprus FA, Spyros Marangos, that he has evidence that
certain members of the UEFA executive took inducements when the
vote was made in 2007.
In a statement, the DNA did not name who they were
investigating but Mircea Sandu is the only Romanian on the UEFA
executive and was a member at the time of the vote.
Later in Nicosia, Marangos said at a news conference on
Friday that he was waiting for Cypriot police to invite him to
provide the information he had.
He added that he would only be prepared to go to court in
Cyprus. "We are on EU soil," he said. "Our court is European.
Let them (UEFA) come here."
He added: "The aim is for the truth to come to light."
Local media in Romania named Sandu on Friday and he denied
the allegations.
'INVESTIGATING CLAIMS'
The DNA statement said it was acting following reports in
the international media.
"Anti-corruption prosecutors are investigating claims
regarding alleged corruption in that certain members of the UEFA
executive committee might have favoured the two states," the DNA
said.
Sandu, 58, who has been head of the Romanian FA since 1990
and became a UEFA executive member in January 2007, two months
before the 2012 decision was taken, said he had no part in any
corruption.
"There is no proof that any UEFA official has taken a bribe.
I cannot be accused because there is no poof and no reason,"
Sandu told private television station Realitatea TV.
"The respective Cypriot has neither offered any names nor
has he shown any proof, and no corruption has taken place."
UEFA has begun legal action against Marangos - a former
board member of the Cyprus FA - who said he had evidence of
corruption relating to the decision to award Poland and Ukraine
the Euro 2012 championship.
Germany's respected Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported
that Marangos had said he had evidence that certain UEFA
representatives were corrupted in the bidding process in 2007,
when Italy and a joint Croatia/Hungary bid missed out.
Bid processes for soccer tournaments have recently come
under scrutiny with world governing body FIFA provisionally
suspending two members of its executive committee on suspicion
of selling their votes to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Polish and Ukrainian officials have dismissed any
allegations of wrongdoing, the former describing Marangos'
accusations as slander.