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WARSAW, Poland (AP) -Polish football officials scrambled to reach a last-minute agreement with the government Monday to avoid a suspension by FIFA from all competitions and possible loss of the co-hosting rights to the 2012 European Championship.
FIFA gave Poland until noon (1000 GMT) Monday to reinstate the Polish Football Federation's governing board or face suspension from two upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
UEFA has warned it could strip Poland of its hosting rights of European football's showcase event in 2012 if no deal is struck. Poland is due to co-host the tournament with Ukraine.
The Polish federation's governing board was suspended last week after a ruling by the Polish Olympic Committee's arbitration court. Robert Zawlocki was appointed temporary chief of the federation.
UEFA spokesman William Gaillard called that move "an abuse of our trust" that can lead to "very, very serious consequences."
"The feeling really is that they are thinking that we are all fools," Gaillard told The Associated Press on Monday.
"It's extremely difficult to organize the Euro in Poland and Ukraine. If we made them stick to the commitments they signed in April 2007, they would be in trouble, terrible trouble, already," Gaillard said.
"We've done absolutely everything and more to make sure they can organize it, and the first thing they do is deceive our trust and go back on a commitment they made a year and a half ago to FIFA."
Poland is due to play the Czech Republic on Oct. 11 and Slovakia on Oct. 15 in qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. If the government and federation fail to hammer out an agreement, Poland will be forced to forfeit both matches, and 3-0 victories will be awarded to the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozla said the sport's world body was examining information it had received from Poland.
"We are not in a position to make further statements at this stage," Odriozla said.
The football federation's suspended president, Michal Listkiewicz, said Monday morning the federation had come up with a proposal for the Ministry of Sport.
"The proposal is very good, and allows everyone to get out of this with face," Michal Listkiewicz said on TVN24 television. "It assures some essential legal changes in the federation."
Listkiewicz did not elaborate.
