FIFA threatens to suspend Albania over alleged interference

Photo: “NOT ONLY SPORT” …The National Stadium of Albania “Qemal Stafa”

TIRANA, Albania - FIFA has threatened to suspend Albania from international matches because of alleged government interference with the country's national soccer federation. In a Jan. 21 letter to the government, world soccer's governing body gave authorities a month to cancel an audit of the Albanian Football Association, or FSHF.

A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press. "If FIFA and UEFA do not receive the requested written confirmation within the given deadlines ... FIFA and UEFA administrations will have no other options but to forward a report for the next meetings of the FIFA and UEFA Executive Committee to take the necessary steps, which may lead to the suspension of the FSHF," it said.

Photo: The President of UEFA Platini with the President of AFF Duka.

The letter was signed by FIFA's general secretary Jerome Valcke and UEFA counterpart David Taylor and was sent to Albanian sport minister Ylli Pango.

The audit was ordered amid an ongoing dispute between the government and soccer federation.
In December, Pango asked UEFA to investigate alleged match fixing involving Albania's last two European Championship qualifiers against Belarus and Romania. He implicated FSHF president Armand Duka in the alleged scandal.

Photo: Sotiris Ninis soccer of Panathinaikos and Greece National Football team was born in the Albanian town of Himara (Northern Epirus). The Albania Football Federation “FSHF” warned to take Ninis by Greece for his National Team but their efforts resulted failed..

Last december, the Albanian authorities have called on European football's governing body UEFA on Wednesday to investigate its side's last two Euro 2008 qualifiers, accusing the chairman of the Albanian football federation of having rigged the results.

"There are clear suspicions that both matches might have been sold by the president of our National football federation," Ylli Pango, Albania's Sport and Culture Minister, said in a letter to UEFA.

Albania's national side lost two Euro 2008 qualifiers, 4-2 against Belarus in Tirana last November and 6-1 against Romania in Bucharest last month.