Ukraine nearly ready for Euro 2012, says Platini

Ukraine is virtually ready for hosting the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, UEFA President Michel Platini said in Kharkiv on Monday.
"Ukraine is virtually ready for Euro 2012. There are no serious problems in preparing for Euro 2012. But there are many minor tasks and problems that need to be solved. The terminal, which I have opened today (the VIP-Terminal at Kharkiv International Airport), is fine, the stadium is beautiful. We will work on the issues of transport system and accommodation. As for other host cities, Lviv, for instance, still has no turf at the stadium, a runway is not ready in Donetsk [airport]. Two years ago we were still facing the issue, whether we can organize Euro 2012 in Ukraine. A year ago, we were deciding whether to leave four or two [host] cities. And today we have four cities, and we need to efficiently use the remaining time to prepare for the championship," Platini said at a briefing in Kharkiv.
The briefing took place at Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv. Before starting the briefing Platini scored two goals – the first time against Euro 2012 tournament director in Ukraine Markiyan Lubkivsky who acted as a goalkeeper, the second time against Football Federation of Ukraine President Hryhoriy Surkis.

Article source - http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/80612/

Euro 2012: Wayne Rooney battles to be fit for England's Montenegro tie

Fabio Capello faces an anxious wait to discover if Wayne Rooney will be fit to play in England's vital Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro on 7 October.

The striker's hamstring injury forced him to miss Manchester United's draw at Stoke on Saturday, and he has also been ruled out of Tuesday's Champions League game against FC Basel at Old Trafford.
"It's difficult to assess on hamstring injuries," said boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
England need a point from their final group match to guarantee qualification.
Ferguson added: "We hope to have him back quickly. He (has done) a bit of jogging but that's all."
Ferguson and his England counterpart Capello will hope Rooney is ready to return in United's home game with Norwich City on Saturday and then join up with his international colleagues for the clash in Podgorica.
Capello will be keen to have Rooney at his disposal after the striker's brilliant start to the season.
Ferguson, meanwhile, admitted that United's recent failure in the final stages of the Champions League against Barcelona in 2009 and at Wembley this year means this cannot be labelled "a golden period" for the club in Europe.
He said: "I think the Champions League is the best competition in the world now, better than the World Cup and the European Championship. It's fantastic.
"It's not a golden period for us because we have lost two finals but I do think we have been consistent in the Champions League. I think our form away from home has been outstanding and obviously we now hope we can do better and win it because that's the aim of this club all of the time."
Read more - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15067332.stm

Poland president Bronislaw Komorowski steps up security ahead of Euro 2012

Poland’s president has approved legislation stepping up security and banning most alcoholic beverages from mass events ahead of the 2012 European Championship.
The regulations signed by President Bronislaw Komorowski this week significantly extend prison terms and raise fines for breaches of the law during large-scale gatherings and represent a tightening of existing security measures. They come as the country tries to send a message that it will not tolerate the kind of violence that has plagued football matches in Poland in recent years.

The new law states that beverages sold in and around the stadiums during Euro 2012 matches can contain no more than 3.5 per cent of alcohol. Most beers in Poland have an alcohol level of four per cent or more.

A spokesman for the Polish organisers of Euro 2012 said Uefa is not planning for any alcohol to be sold in and around stadiums during matches.

The new legislation also bans hard packaging made of glass, metal or hard plastic in stadiums as a precaution against them being used as weapons. Knives and other sharp objects are forbidden, and spectators will not be allowed to cover their faces in the stadiums.

Other new provisions allow for rowdy fans to be tried in summary procedures from the stadium via a TV link to a court. Convicted hooligans will be given chips and will be submitted to electronic surveying.

Read more - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/european-championships-2012/8782802/Poland-president-Bronislaw-Komorowski-steps-up-security-ahead-of-Euro-2012.html

Pitfalls loom on the Euro 2012 run-in

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When Wales substitute Robert Earnshaw missed an open goal that would have levelled the score against England at Wembley in a crucial Euro 2012 qualifier earlier this month, punters who rely on short-priced “certainties” drew a big sigh of relief.
The spread betting firms had already done well, as England, at 2.2-2.4 on goal supremacy, were playing at home against a team 113 places below them in Fifa’s world ranking, and were heavily backed to make the less than generous goal and match performance spreads.
“We saw an awful lot of customers getting with England in Bulgaria on the Friday before at 0.9-1.1 goal supremacy [England won 3-0], and they came back to play up profits from that game,” says Andy Wright, football trader at Sporting Index.
The lack of goals in England’s 1-0 win against Wales proved to be a problem for the betting exchanges. “We saw £9.2m ($14.2m) traded on the game, and would have expected more if there had been more goals,” said Andy Lulham, Betfair spokesman.
Things have gone more to plan for spread betters eager to cash in on the wide gulf in talent at these early stages of the competition: Group A winners Germany put six goals past Austria, Italy won twice in five days to top Group B, and world champions Spain scored six goals without reply against minnow Liechtenstein to qualify for the finals in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

Read more - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55e337b8-e032-11e0-ba12-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Ym23YmGp