By Andrew Warshaw
May 31 – The 2012 European Championship hosts Ukraine and Poland have hit back sharply at a BBC television programme that highlighted entrenched racism in both countries, saying the Panorama broadcast was “unbalanced and biased” and that fans would be perfectly safe.
Panorama on Monday (May 28) featured shocking footage of violence, monkey chants, Nazi salutes and anti-Semitism and interviewed former England defender Sol Campbell who warned fans not to travel to the finals.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “Nobody who comes to Poland will be in any danger because of his race.
“This is not our custom, as is not pointing out similar incidents in other countries, although we know they take place.
“In Poland, they’re a rarity.”
In Kiev, Oleh Voloshyn, Ukraine’s director of the Foreign Ministry’s Communications Policy Department, went further, saying the allegations were a “dreamed up and mythical problem”.
And Volodymyr Khandogiy, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, added: “What was aired, in my personal opinion, is unbalanced and biased reporting about the situation in Ukraine.”
Khandohiy told CNN: “I would like to say we do not in Ukraine have a problem of that magnitude as it appeared on the screen.
“Racism and racial ideology is against the law and if those young fans were shouting anything close to Nazi slogans they would have been prosecuted.
“Ukraine is very well known for its tolerance and it has a long history of living together with other nationalities.
“In our national football championship, roughly half of all the players are from Asian, African and Brazilian countries.”
Family members of two players in the England squad – Arsenal pair Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – have already said they won’t be going to the Euros due to fears over racism.
But Marcin Bosacki, the Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman, accused the BBC of “cheap journalism”.
“There is a problem with racism and anti-Semitism in Poland but it is blown out of every possible proportion in this material,” he said.
“Do you know how many British tourists come to Poland every year?
“500,000.
“And do you know how many reports they gave to the British Embassy and consulates about racism in the last three years?
“Zero.
“We are hospitable and treat all people who come here as friends.”
The racism allegations have heaped further pressure on organisers, especially in Ukraine which desperately wants to use the tournament to showcase how it has become a modern, tolerant country since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
The jailing of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has already prompted worldwide adverse publicity, with some politicians threatening to boycott Euro 2012.
Add to that reports of high-level corruption, excessive hotel prices and huge distances between venues and you get some idea of why the Ukraine Government is so keen to accentuate the positive.
The comments of Campbell, who played 73 times for England, also riled Ukrainian sportsmen who rallied to their country’s defence.
Striker Andrei Shevchenko, who used to play for Chelsea, said: “We do not have any real problems with racism here.
“Ukraine is a very peaceful country and people here are very friendly.
“I know that everything will be done for Euro 2012 to take place at a high level.”
Oleh Luzhny (pictured above), formerly of Arsenal, was quoted by the online publication Korrespondent.net as saying: “No, no and no again.
“I have never heard any talk about this problem [racism].
“We have Nigerian football players here and I have never heard about outbreaks of racism.”
UEFA’s Euro 2012 director Markiyan Lubkivsky pleaded to journalists not to focus on the negative.
“So much mud has been heaped on this championship, and on the process of preparing for it,” he said.
“Ninety per cent of all the information is just not true.”
Directly addressing Campbell’s comments, he added: “These were for us simply insulting and we do not know what the aim of this statement was.”
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