UK government also not headed to Ukraine for Euro-2012

The UK’s Foreign Office said yesterday that no government officials would attend group matches for Euro-2012 in Ukraine. The England team is due to play three group matches in Ukraine. The European Commission and French government have also announced that no politicians will travel to Ukraine over concerns about selective justice and the rule of law, and the German government, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, said last month she would sit out the tournament unless there was a change in the Ukrainian government’s practices.

Brad Wells: The governments of the largest European countries to play group matches in Ukraine have already bowed out. The others are Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal. With only one day left until games start in Kharkiv (Netherlands-Denmark) and two days for Lviv (Germany-Portugal), this might be the end of these announcements. Of the governments yet to make a statement, we believe Sweden, which has been amongst Ukraine’s strongest political supporters, is least likely to announce a boycott; its first match is on June 11 in Kyiv.