Reuters reports that Croatia and Hungary are asking UEFA to cover the costs of their failed bid for the 2012 European Championships which was awarded to Poland and Ukraine.
Croatian FA President Markovic told the Vecernji List daily Tuesday, “we have indicated that we will file a compensation request for the costs of our candidacy. We will send the request in the next two days.
Croatia’s FA secretary-general Zorislav Srebric told Reuters that a compensation request would be filed this week, but didn’t go into details.
According to local media two million Euros could be requested, the amount of money invested in the bid.
Markovic said he held a meeting with UEFA President Michel Platini Monday expressing his disappointment with the outcome of the bid. He said, “I told him that our lobbying had been fair and that we have invested a lot of money in it. He knows as well that UEFA commissions indicated preference for Italy and our bid with Hungary. Money is important but what matters more is our reputation”.
He added that compensation would be fair as the money spent could have been directed to other important football projects.
UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said European soccer’s governing body could not respond to reports from Croatia as it had not been formally notified by the national association, but said “this is the process and everybody knows about it”.
