UEFA suspends AFFA

UEFA has suspended the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) with immediate effect and until further notice as a result of the country's domestic football problems.

Follows FIFA decision
European football's governing body's decision follows the suspension of the Azerbaijan national association imposed by the world football body FIFA on Tuesday. The UEFA Executive Committee's decision, taken in accordance with the UEFA statutes, means that the AFFA will not be allowed to take part in any UEFA representative team competition and club competition with immediate effect. The association will also lose the right to vote at any ordinary and extraordinary UEFA Congress.

EURO qualifiers
Azerbaijan have been competing in Group 9 of the UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying competition, together with Wales, Italy, Serbia-Montenegro and Finland, taking one point from five games. Their next scheduled fixture is at home to Serbia-Montenegro on 11 June.

Various problems
The suspension of the association in Azerbaijan comes in the wake of various problems affecting football in the country, which have not been solved despite recent attempts by both FIFA and UEFA to bring about agreement.

Zürich agreement
FIFA and UEFA have recently expressed disappointment about the attitude of Azerbaijani First Division clubs to an agreement signed in Zürich last September with the mediation of the world and European bodies, who joined AFFA representatives, Azeri clubs and the country's ministry of youth and tourism to help persuade ten leading clubs to take part in the national championship after they had quit the league the previous spring. However, FIFA said on Tuesday that the terms of the September agreement had not been honoured.

Unavoidable decision
"While this decision is certainly regrettable for Azerbaijani football," FIFA said on suspending the association, "it was unavoidable due to the repeated violations of sport's fundamental ethical principles by organisations or bodies that have not honoured the commitments they made when they signed an agreement in Zürich on 20 September 2002."