- Title: UEFA set September date for presidential election
- Date: 18th May 2016
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA INTERIM GENERAL SECRETARY, THEODORE THEODORISIS, SAYING: "I would like to start by telling you that the decision of Executive Committee is that the next UEFA Extraordinary Congress, which will be an elective congress, will take place on the 14th September 2016 in Athens. This congress will also serve to elect the female member, the female UEFA representative in the new FIFA council. For both the elections, the deadline for submission of candidacy will be the 20th July." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA INTERIM GENERAL SECRETARY, THEODORE THEODORISIS, SAYING: (RESPONDING TO QUESTION FROM DUTCH BROADCASTER NOS REGARDING WHETHER ANYONE HAD PUT THEMSELVES FORWARD AS UEFA PRESIDENT) "So, officially not. Somebody from your country expressed his intention (to run)." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA INTERIM GENERAL SECRETARY, THEODORE THEODORISIS, TALKING ABOUT FORMER UEFA PRESIDENT MICHEL PLATINI'S BAN FROM SOCCER, SAYING: "We are clarifying that because I think that we need to know - for Michel Platini and for any suspension that might come at any moment - to know what this decision means. This is a decision... The ban comes from the (FIFA) Ethics Committee but the code of the Ethics Committee was established by the FIFA Council so we are seeking clarification from both sides about what this suspension means. It doesn't mean anything else, it just means that we need to know, before we act." (REPORTER ASKING): "So UEFA is not seeking to invite him (to Euro 2016)?" "No, I didn't say that. What I say is that I prefer to know - and I speak on behalf of UEFA - we prefer to know what are our rights as we don't want to violate any FIFA rule and, as your colleague said, perhaps we might wish to invite him because don't forget he was the first scorer of this tournament, the first scorer in tournament history. But for us we have to clarify exactly what are our rights and what we can do and what we cannot do. We are not here to violate any decision or any regulations of FIFA." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA INTERIM GENERAL SECRETARY, THEODORE THEODORISIS, SAYING: "In the Kosovo case, apart from the obvious one between Serbia and Kosovo, there are a lot of cases where countries to not recognize Kosovo. So we want this group (UEFA Committee) to explore how feasible it is to have football matches between these countries and Kosovo in order to take the appropriate decisions on who could be the teams that play Kosovo." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) UEFA'S HEAD OF LEGAL AFFAIRS, ALISTAIR BELL, TALKING ABOUT WHETHER PLAYERS WHO HAVE PLAYED FOR OTHER NATIONS COULD NOW PLAY FOR KOSOVO, SAYING: "It is going to have to be determined on a case by case basis by FIFA. Obviously, there are some players of Kosovan nationality or duel nationality, who have been playing for other countries. Probably the best known example is Switzerland. It is clear that these players could continue to play for Switzerland if they elect to do so. What is less clear is whether they could change to play for Kosovo if they wished to do so and that is something that will have to be determined by FIFA when the situation arises." NEWS CONFERENCE ENDING
- Embargoed: 2nd June 2016 13:13
- Keywords: UEFA Basel Executive Committee
- Location: BASEL, SWITZERLAND
- City: BASEL, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Snooker,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0024IC4P4V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: UEFA will hold an election in September to choose a replacement for its banned president Michel Platini, European soccer's governing body said on Wednesday (May 18).
UEFA's executive committee decided to hold the election at a special Congress in Athens, acting general secretary general Theodore Theodoridis told reporters.
The decision means that UEFA will not have a president during its showpiece European championship in France in June and July.
Dutch FA president Michael van Praag, who last year stood for the FIFA presidency before withdrawing from the contest, was reported by local media as planning to stand in the UEFA election.
Theodoridis hinted that van Praag may be in the running as, when asked by Dutch broadcaster NOS, he responded that somebody from their country was interested in the role.
Platini, a former French international regarded as one of the finest players of his generation, was one of the sport's most powerful figures until he was engulfed by the soccer scandal which has plagued sport's governing body FIFA.
The 60-year-old was banished along with former FIFA president Sepp Blatter over a payment of two million Swiss francs ($2.08 million) made to the Frenchman by FIFA with Blatter's approval in 2011 for work done a decade earlier.
However, UEFA said they were still seeking clarification from FIFA as to whether the former France captain could attend the European Championships in his home country.
"We prefer to know what are our rights as we don't want to violate any FIFA rule and, as your colleague said, perhaps we might wish to invite him because don't forget he was the first scorer of this tournament, the first scorer in tournament history. But for us we have to clarify exactly what are our rights and what we can do and what we cannot do. We are not here to violate any decision or any regulations of FIFA," said Theodoridis.
Theodoridis also addressed the issue of Kosovo who, along with Gibraltar, have been accepted as FIFA members.
FIFA has already said that both teams will be able to take part in the 2018 World Cup qualifying competition which starts in September.
But Theodoridis mentioned that there may be certain teams, including Serbia, who will not be allowed to face Kosovo for security reasons.
It was not immediately clear whether Kosovar players who have already played for another national team would be allowed to switch nationalities.
FIFA rules do not allow players to change allegiance but there have been calls to make an exception for Kosovo, which could have a big impact on Switzerland and Albania who both have contingents of players with Kosovar roots.
UEFA's head of legal affairs Alistair Bell said they were seeking clarification from FIFA on this issue. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None