UEFA warns over Euro 2012 ticket scams

UEFA on Tuesday formally kicked off ticket sales for Euro 2012, marking the moment by handing over free seats to a lucky fan of co-hosts Poland.At a ceremony in Warsaw the president of European football's governing body, Michel Platini, presented Pawel Michalczak, a 34-year-old forester who lives near the Polish capital, with his prize of a ticket for Poland's three first-round matches.

UEFA chief Michel Platini on Saturday said he hoped Euro 2012 co-host Ukraine would solve its deep political crisis, as the ex-Soviet nation braced for bitterly-contested presidential polls."Things haven't exactly been easy with regard to Ukraine for the past two years," Platini told reporters on the eve of the qualifying competition draw for the 2012 European championships in Warsaw, capital of Ukraine's fellow-host Poland."Between the financial crisis and the political problems in Ukraine, it's not been particularly simple.

UEFA on Friday ratified the four Ukrainian cities chosen to host the 2012 European championships with the final to take place in Kiev.The four cities - Kiev, Donetsk, Karkov and Lviv - will host games with the final taking place in the capital on July 1, 2012.Ukraine is co-hosting the competition with Poland where games will be held in four venues at Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan and Gdansk.UEFA president Michel Platini, giving Ukraine the green light, said: "Around three years ago we entrusted the organisation of the Euro to Poland and Ukraine.

Host countries Poland and Ukraine have been told to take a tough stance on racism during the Euro 2012 soccer tournament by European football's governing body UEFA.

More than half of Europe's top football clubs are still in the red, with a record 1.2 billion euro losses about a year before UEFA's new financial rules kick in, the organisation says."Two years ago almost 70 percent of clubs were in the red," said Gianni Infantino, secretary general of European football's governing body."At present there are still 56 percent - that means more than half of all professional football clubs are in the red," he told journalists as UEFA unveiled its club licensing report for 2009.