FIFA suspend Azerbaijan

World soccer8217;s governing body FIFA today announced the suspension of the Azerbaijan football federation AFFA because of external pressure on the body. Football in the former Soviet Republic has been in chaos since they signed an agreement with FIFA last September, as a result of a bitter fight for control of the sport between the AFFA, and the country8217;s top clubs backed by the government.

The domestic championship was abandoned as a result and the top clubs have prevented their players from playing with the national team. FIFA have expressed their concern about the conflict and called on Azerbaijan8217;s government to stop interfering in the administration of the sport. 8220;Having made numerous appeals to bring the situation in the country back to normal, world football8217;s governing body had no other choice than to suspend the association,8221; FIFA said in a statement today.

8220;This suspension comes into force immediately and will be in place until further notice.8221; As a consequence of the FIFA ruling, Azerbaijan will not be allowed to play international matches, including the Euro 2004 qualifying games. They are currently at the bottom of group nine with one point from five games and will not host Serbia and Montenegro as scheduled on June 11.