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Guest
·BRUSSELS, May 29 (Reuters)(DS) - Lawyers acting for Kosovars
living in Belgium said on Monday they would ask a Belgian court
to ban Yugoslavia from Euro 2000.
"(The action) will be introduced this Friday before a judge
in Brussels," said Patrick Mbaya, an assistant to Luc Misson,
one of two lawyers acting for the plaintiffs.
The action would ask the court to order Belgian Foreign
Minister Louis Michel and Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne to
prevent the Yugoslav team from playing in the tournament.
Yugoslavia are due to play their opening game against
Slovenia in Charleroi, Belgium, on June 13.
Mbaya said the action was based on European Union sanctions
imposed on Serbia during last year's Kosovo conflict and the
precedent of Euro 92 when, against the backdrop of war in
Bosnia, Yugoslavia wwere banned by UEFA and replaced by Denmark,
who went on to win.
Olivier Alsteens, spokesman for the Belgian Foreign
Minister, declined to comment until the complaint had been
formally lodged, but said he believed Belgium had so far
respected all relevant laws.
"There is no (EU) sporting embargo against Yugoslavia,"
Alsteens said.
He said there was a visa ban on some Serbs travelling abroad
and if any were found in the Yugoslav delegation their entry
into the country would be blocked. He noted, however, that most
Yugoslav players are already employed by EU-based teams and had
valid visas.
Ministers in Belgrade were the only ones not invited by the
Belgian government to watch their teams in action, he added.
-Daily Soccer.
so.....how does this make you guys feel?
living in Belgium said on Monday they would ask a Belgian court
to ban Yugoslavia from Euro 2000.
"(The action) will be introduced this Friday before a judge
in Brussels," said Patrick Mbaya, an assistant to Luc Misson,
one of two lawyers acting for the plaintiffs.
The action would ask the court to order Belgian Foreign
Minister Louis Michel and Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne to
prevent the Yugoslav team from playing in the tournament.
Yugoslavia are due to play their opening game against
Slovenia in Charleroi, Belgium, on June 13.
Mbaya said the action was based on European Union sanctions
imposed on Serbia during last year's Kosovo conflict and the
precedent of Euro 92 when, against the backdrop of war in
Bosnia, Yugoslavia wwere banned by UEFA and replaced by Denmark,
who went on to win.
Olivier Alsteens, spokesman for the Belgian Foreign
Minister, declined to comment until the complaint had been
formally lodged, but said he believed Belgium had so far
respected all relevant laws.
"There is no (EU) sporting embargo against Yugoslavia,"
Alsteens said.
He said there was a visa ban on some Serbs travelling abroad
and if any were found in the Yugoslav delegation their entry
into the country would be blocked. He noted, however, that most
Yugoslav players are already employed by EU-based teams and had
valid visas.
Ministers in Belgrade were the only ones not invited by the
Belgian government to watch their teams in action, he added.
-Daily Soccer.
so.....how does this make you guys feel?