(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-18 14:37

KIEV - UEFA president Michel Platini has warned Ukraine's soccer authorities that a Kiev stadium cannot be used for Euro 2012, to be hosted jointly with Poland, unless construction of a nearby shopping centre is halted.

A note on the Ukrainian soccer federation's Web site www.ffu.org, quoted by media on Monday, said federation president Hryhory Surkis had received the letter after a UEFA inspection of the site around Kiev's Olympic stadium this month.

"The partial blockage of exits from the stadium and its emergency routes, plus the limited area in which spectators can move about significantly raises the threat of poor security for fans," the site quoted Platini as saying in his letter.

"The conclusion leaves no doubt: the stadium, with limited space for movement, clearly cannot host matches for Euro 2012. We therefore hope and believe that the appropriate state bodies in Ukraine will adopt the necessary decisions immediately."

President Viktor Yushchenko, who played a key role in Ukraine and Poland jointly winning the right to host the 2012 European championship, issued a decree this month ordering the dismantling of the construction project.

Surkis, re-elected federation president last week, has been highly critical of the failure by officials to stop construction of the shopping and leisure centre by the 84,000-seat facility, denouncing it as a "depraved pratice of official inaction".

Ukraine's interior ministry, citing safety concerns for fans, last week limited to 41,000 the number of seats made available for Ukraine's home Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy.

Ukraine and Poland face colossal logistical tasks in modernising transport and communication links and hotels for the event.

Criticism of the early stages of organising the championship in Ukraine has already started to mount.

Yushchenko this month accused the government, led by his arch-rival, of failing to take preparations seriously. Ukraine's sports minister criticised host cities Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kiev and Lviv for failing to implement tasks on schedule.