Croatia /Hungary demand cost refund from UEFA

Croatia and Hungary will demand compensation for the costs incurred in connection with preparation of the bid that failed in UEFA competition for the rights to host EURO 2012.

This intention has been corroborated by authorities of the Football Association – the President of the Croatian Football Association Vlatko Markovic in an interview for the best-selling Vecernji List daily and secretary-general of the Croatian Football Association Zorislav Srebric in a statement for Reuters.

National media reported that the demand might be for as much as two million euros (USD 2.71 million), that is roughly the amount invested by Hungary and Croatia in the bid.

Last week the right to host European Championships 2012 was awarded to Poland and Ukraine, instead of Italy or the joint Croatia-Hungary bid, which came as a surprise for many observers.

Markovic said that he held a meeting with the UEFA President, Michel Platini, on Monday and expressed his disappointment with the results of the bidding.

- I told him our lobbing was fair and we invested a lot of money. Moreover he knows that UEFA commissions indicated preference for Italy and our joint bid with Hungary – Markovic said in Tuesday edition of Jutarnji List newspaper.

He added that compensation is fair because the money spent could have been allocated to some other important football projects.

The UEFA spokesperson, William Gaillard, said that the voting by the Executive Committee would not make any sense if the decision were up to the technical commission. The supreme executive body makes this decision, just like it is in the case of the FIFA World Cup or the Olympic Games.

- This is the process and everybody knows about it - added Gaillard.

Markovic also said Platini proposed that Croatia host the UEFA congress in January 2008.

Reuters, 24th April 2007