What to do while in Ukraine

The final rosters from the 16 teams competing in next month’s European Championship in Poland and Ukraine were released Tuesday. UEFA has the final lists  here , or see below. There were few surprises, as most teams had narrowed their rosters earlier. For example, England Coach Roy Hodgson  replaced the injured Gareth Barry with Everton’s Phil Jagielka  and continued to pray that his team can avoid serious trouble until Wayne Rooney’s suspension ends. France Coach Laurent Blanc dropped the rusty midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, whose unpopular presence in the lineup at the 2010 World Cup had reportedly been  one reason the team mutinied  that summer. And Italy Coach Cesare Prandelli  dropped one defender under investigation for match fixing , Domenico Criscito, but took another who is in the same boat, Leonardo Bonucci. Prandelli also decided to include the controversy magnet Mario Balotelli on his team, after  warning him to watch his temper ...

The Footy Show recaps their Euro 2012 Denmark preview and Kristian Jack flies solo to chat with the Irish Examiner’s Miguel Delaney about Ireland ahead of the tournament in Poland & Ukraine.

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — European Championship co-hosts Ukraine and Poland denounced a BBC report that portrayed their fans as racist, and European soccer's governing body reiterated that all foreign guests will be safe. The BBC Panaroma documentary, titled "Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate," showed fans in the two nations giving the Nazi salute and taunting black players with monkey noises. Asian students were also shown being attacked at Metalis Stadium in Kharkiv, one of the host venues. Former England captain Sol Campbell said in the program broadcast Monday in Britain that fans should not travel to those countries because "you could end up coming back in a coffin." Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Voloshyn said the program was unjust and smacked of arrogance and xenophobia, portraying "Eastern Europe as mentally not equal to the rest of Europe." "We believe this report is outrageous, done in the best traditions of Sovie...

Leo Messi breathes calm after seeing how ‘Fox Sports’ has given for dead on Twitter. “We announce the sad news that died Leonel Messi by cardiorespiratory arrest during a training # RipMessi”, assured the tweet. Nearly 300,000 fans in this social network did not know how to react. Some were taken seriously, others joked, but most sought explanations for what happened. The message barely lasted a few seconds into the account, took to be removed to see the uproar. All indications are that it would have been subjected to a hacker. Even so, the ‘tuiteros’ have not slow to give their vision of what happened. Paul caves Montaño (@ Paulinson21), for example, believes that he has been a madridista thing. “These real accounts hackeadores already wanted!” Victor Pernalete (@ VictorPerna) or José Andrés Pacheco (@ aspa43) are two examples of those who were not taken very well the news, asking for explanations to Fox. Under the hashtag # RipMessi you can read some of these complai...

With just few weeks  left until the EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, here’s your  guide to all the 32 outfield strips to be worn at Euro 2012.  Czech Republic: Greece: Poland: Russia: Denmark: Germany: Holland: Portugal: Croatia: Italy: Ireland: Spain: England: France: Sweden: Ukraine: What is your favorite t-shirt? I feel sorry for  Holland & England.  They will play in BLACK t-shirt and it will be 30 C.

KIEV, Ukraine  (AP) — Tired of seeing their country criticized as greedy and unfriendly, a group of Ukrainians on Monday announced a project to provide  free accommodation , translation and other services to foreign  football fans  attending next month's European Championship. The Friendly  Ukraine initiative  unites several Web sites and offers such things as rooms, airport pickups and guided tours to football fans free-of-charge. Organizers say accommodation may be modest, but it will come from the heart and will be free. " Ukraine  is a friendly country, Ukraine is a  hospitable country ," said program coordinator  Viktoria Svitlova . "We are changing the image of the Ukrainian people." UEFA President  Michel Platini  has called on the government to stop "bandits and crooks" from ripping off fans with exorbitant accommodation prices. There aren't enough hotel rooms and some fans will have to live in camps and Soviet-era...

Ukraine will be front and center on the world stage with Poland as the two nations set to co-host the  UEFA Euro 2012  Tournament. Unfortunately for Ukraine, it could very easily walk away from the tournament with an 0-3 record. With a  FIFA World Ranking  of 50, Ukraine looks to be completely outmatched against the likes of England (ranked 7th), France (ranked 16th) and Sweden (ranked 17th). But as a host nation, anything is possible when playing on your home soil in front of millions of loyal supporters. Here is the opening round schedule for Group D at the UEFA Euro 2012 Tournament (All Times ET): Group D England France Sweden Ukraine (host nation) Monday, June 11 France vs. England: 12:00 p.m. (Donbass Arena - Donetsk, Ukraine) Ukraine vs. Sweden: 2:45 p.m. (Olympic Stadium - Kiev, Ukraine) Friday, June 15 Sweden vs. England: 12:00 p.m. (Olympic Stadium - Kiev, Ukraine) Ukraine vs. France: 2:45 p.m. (Donbass Arena - Donetsk, Ukrai...

Chinese UEFA Euro 2012 Advertising is very strange.

Two key amendments to the UEFA EURO 2012 regulations have come into force following their ratification by the UEFA Executive Committee. The amendments concern paragraph 8.07, dealing with determination of the final rankings of teams who are equal on points at the end of the group matches – and paragraphs 10.08 and (new) 10.09, concerning measures to be taken in the event of a match being abandoned. Final group rankings To avoid doubt, and in order to ensure that the criteria related to the direct confrontation between the teams remaining equal in points after the group phase are reapplied, the UEFA Executive Committee decided at its meeting in Istanbul on 20 March 2012 to amend paragraph 8.07 of the Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2010–12 as follows – in particular the new clause d) shown in bold: "If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings: a) Higher nu...

As part of the   League   Trophy   Tour   of Euro-2012   "Follow   the cup !"   FEMEN   activists raided   a   cup in   Dnepropetrovsk. Today at   11:00 am   in Dnipropetrovsk   journalist   international edition   Marie Claire   citizen of   France , along with   Emma   Aels   FEMEN   activist   Inna   Shevchenko   topless   attacked   the UEFA Cup   in 2012 .   Euro- gusyatnitsa   Platini   was beaten   to the ground   along with the  cabinet,   to which   was attached   after the attack   on her   FEMEN   in Kiev. Both   participating   shares   have been arrested,   along with them   were detained photographer   Marie Claire magazine   Veronique   French citizen   and a journalist   before Vigor   magazine   Newsweek Poland ...