The Euro 2008 qualifiers between Armenia and Azerbaijan will remain pointless and unplayed. No one comes out of the affair well, including UEFA, as Dan Brennan explains
The decision by UEFA, after 18 months of bureaucratic fudge, to cancel September’s double-header between Azerbaijan and Armenia was depressing on all fronts. Depressing because it underlined that, over a decade after a ceasefire officially ended armed conflict between the two countries, they still can’t agree on anything. Depressing, too, because of the failure on UEFA’s part to act swiftly to resolve a situation where alternatives were available.