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Michel Platini: UEFA decision for Azerbaijan and Armenia teams to compete in the same group was not right step

17 October 2007 09:03 (UTC +04:00)

â€œUEFA decision for Azerbaijan and Armenia teams to compete in the same group was not right stepâ€, UEFA president Michel Platini was quoted by APA-Sport as saying. According to Platini UEFAâ€™s previous leadership took unfair step two years ago including Azerbaijan and Armenia teams to the same group. â€œUEFA Executive Commission should have brought Azerbaijan and Armenia together in the same groupâ€.
He said UEFA decision depended on the recommendation of the regional experts who advised cancelling the match between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Platini said it was fair to give no points to those teams.
â€œIf there is not a match so there is not a point. We recommended FIFA that the Azerbaijanis and Armenians should be thrown into the same basket in the 2010 World Cup draw in Durban, South Africa. In that vase they will not meet in 2010 World cupâ€.
UEFA Executive Committee decided to cancel two Euro 2008 Group A matches between Azerbaijan and Armenian teams on June 23 in Herenven, Netherlands. While Azerbaijan offered to hold the match in a neutral site, Armenia wanted Iravan and Baku as match sites. UEFA decided to cancel match and give each side zero point in the end.
/APA-Sport/