Last updated : 15 September 2002 By Ed_ScottishFitba
The race for EURO2008 could lose one of the runners soon. Austria and Switzerland's bid suffered a blow as allegations arose that Sturm Graz fans aimed Nazi salutes at Maccabi Haifa players this week. UEFA are sending in a senior inspector, Israeli Jacob Erel, to Vienna next week to probe the allegations. Erel is one of UEFA's top policy-makers and is the the director responsible for the running of all competitions, including the Champions League and the European Championships. He was shocked to see pictures on Israeli TV showing apparently Graz fans chanting 'Heil Hitler' and 'Auschwitz'.
However, reporters from Israeli TV who are following Haifa as they strive to reach the group stages of the Champions league are adamant that it was SturmGraz fans who were responsible for the chants. They reminded everyone that in each of the last two seasons serious diplomatic incidents have flared-up following matches between Austrian and Israeli national and club sides. Last night, Erel said: "I was not aware this had taken place and I will need to see the reports from the referee and the UEFA observer concerning the match. Clearly, this is something we do not want to see. But, as I am a member of the inspection team, I cannot comment until I have delved into this matter in more detail". It is unfortunate that in the Alpine bid document and promotions the football associations claim that that the Alpine Republic was the 'safe' option for 2008, 'free from football violence'. They could rue the day that SturmGraz were drawn against Maccabi Haifa.
