Major football will not return to the North Caucasus. Once again, the officials of UEFA have decided not to hold the games of the European Cup in the region, which is quite troubled, from their point of view. When that decision was made, the Dagestani club Anji appealed to UEFA with the promise to provide all the necessary security guarantees. UEFA answered the letter of Aiwaz Kaziahmedov, Director General of the team, but left the prohibition in force. UEFA supposes that the foreign teams, fans, officials and media representatives in Makhachkala will be at risk due to the considerable threat of terrorism in this region. We publish below the full text of the letter sent by Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA competitions director, to Anji; it is also published at the web-site of Anji:
"We understand the disappointment of your club because of the ban on holding matches at your home stadium, but it is the duty of UEFA to ensure standard conditions of security to all the participants in our competition.
The UEFA Executive Committee made this decision based on reliable records. It confirms that the security threat due to terrorism remains very high in Dagestan. And it encourages governments of various countries to warn their citizens about the need to refrain from trips to Dagestan and some neighboring regions.
In this situation, we believe that it would be irresponsible of UEFA to allow matches to be held in Makhachkala. If this is allowed, it would compromise the team, officials, media representatives and fans, and this is unacceptable to most governments.
We appreciate your club's projects for the benefit of the population of Makhachkala, and encourage you to continue moving in this direction. However, the primary and the most important condition for international matches is to ensure a secure environment that will allow foreign visitors to stay safe in Dagestan.
Please note that decisions on the separation of the players from their compatriots have never been made lightly by UEFA, and we deeply regret that it is necessary to make such decisions as in the case of Makhachkala.
We hope for your understanding and assistance in finding a suitable venue for holding the matches of Anji in the UEFA Europa League 2012-2013. "
UEFA has already prohibited Makhachkala from playing home matches of the UEFA Cup in its hometown before. In 2001, Anji had, instead of two matches, as required by the regulations, to hold only one game on a neutral pitch with the Scottish team Rangers. As a result, the Glasgow players won 1-0
The fans of Anji who disagree with the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee are planning to go to a meeting on July 7 in Makhachkala.
"The meeting will be held at 11:00 am on July at the Makhachkala stadium “Dynamo”, where Anji plays its home games. The meeting has been approved by the authorities; moreover, many of the officials are also going to be at the meeting, because they are also not satisfied with the decision of UEFA, " a representative of the fan-club team commented to RIA Novosti.
Anji went through to the second qualifying round of the Europa League, coming fifth in the Russian Championship in 2011/12. The first rival of Guus Hiddink’s team will become the winner of the match between the Albanian team Flamurtari and Hungary's Honvéd, which will take place on July 12. The second qualifying round matches of the Europa League will be held on July 19 and July 26.
