FIFPro head delivers stark warning that Euro 2012 will be remembered for the wrong reasons

By Andrew Warshaw

April 17 – The head of the union representing professional footballers has warned that the 2012 European Championships will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Theo van Seggelen, secretary-general of FIFPro, says Poland and Ukraine are hardly ideal hosts as he painted a grim picture of what to expect.

Last week UEFA President Michel Platini denounced rogue hoteliers as “bandits and crooks” for hiking up prices but Van Seggelen said there were other equally worrying issues.

“Ukraine will be very difficult for fans,” Van Seggelen (pictured below) said.

“I think that this tournament will not be remembered for the atmosphere – that for me is 100 per cent sure.

“Ukraine is not the ideal place to play this kind of event.”

In February FIFPro produced some hard-hitting statistics about violence and racism in Eastern Europe and is worried that teams playing at Euro 2012 may be subject to similar abuse.

“We have to hope [the Eastern European fans responsible for racism and violence] are not the same people who are watching the games in Poland and Ukraine [at Euro 2012] because then we have a real problem,” he told the BBC.

“I’m sure that the fans from the European countries who have qualified…will not be any problem.

“Four years ago in Switzerland and Austria it was fantastic.

“If the majority of fans are coming from these two countries [Poland and Ukraine], then I’m not 100 per cent convinced that we will not have accidents, even in the stadiums.

“I think that UEFA is capable, with the support of the Government, of preventing these kind of events.

“But I have more fear for what happens outside the stadium, especially for the fans, especially in Ukraine.

“There are some problems, especially in Ukraine, with the transportation.

“There are also problems with the language.

“These people do not speak other languages.”

Van Seggelen is also worried about some of the stadium choices for major games, such Kharkiv for the Group B match between Netherlands and Germany.

“Holland against Germany is played in the smallest stadium in Ukraine, somewhere in the middle of nowhere,” he said.

“Football is about fans, and I don’t want to be too critical, but how is it possible that these kinds of games, which are highlights of the tournament, are played in these stadiums in the middle of nowhere?”

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