By Andrew Warshaw in Geneva
May 28 – Turkey’s most senior footballing official has refused to blame UEFA for playing safe after his country narrowly missed out to France in the race to stage the European 2016 Championships.
The Turks were edged out 7-6 in the second round of voting and could not conceal their disappointment after getting so close at the third time of asking.
“I genuinely thought this time we would go the distance,” a crestfallen Senes Erzik, UEFA vice-president who was ineligible to vote and had to stand by and watch proceedings, told insideworldfootball.
“We lost by a single vote.
“You’d have to ask the voters why they voted this way but I don’t think playing safe came into it.”
Erzik also said he did not believe problems in Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012 contributed to his country agonisingly missing out yet again after two failed previous bids.
“I can’t see that this was in the minds of the UEFA because the situation is totally different, both economically and socially,” he said.
“We have stability now.
“All our problems concerning the economic situation have gone.”
Erzik, one of UEFA’s elder statesmen who was desperate to see his country stage a major tournament for the first time, said security issues could not be invoked either as a reason for a third straight defeat.
“No I can’t see that,” he said.
“We are a safe country and gave all our guarantees in our bid book.
“There was nothing lacking.”
Senior UEFA employees who observed the voting process here privately told insideworldfootball that Turkey were simply the victims of bad timing in terms of the tournament being expanded to 24 teams and them therefore needing to give the green light to an established organiser of previous finals.
Nevertheless, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who had called on UEFA to take a “historic decision” and help bring Turkey, which has a Muslim majority, closer to the heart of Europe, was clearly distraught.
“We all did our best,” he said.
“We are saddened that it was lost by one point.”
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