UEFA President Michel Platini urged Ukrainian authorities on Thursday to prevent ''bandits and crooks'' from charging fans attending the European Championship exorbitant prices for hotel accommodation.
Ukraine co-hosts Euro 2012 with Poland from June 8 to July 1, and some hotels in the country are charging up to 10 times their normal rates. Others are canceling reservations made months in advance.
Speaking at the opening of a new airport terminal in Lviv, one of the host cities, Platini said hotels shouldn't be allowed to raise the price from ?40 ($53) to ?500 ($657) for a room per night.
''It's wrong to have made a lot of investment and then to tell people that they cannot come because there are bandits and crooks who want to earn a lot of money during this Euro,'' Platini said.
Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych has ordered his government to prevent hoteliers charging inflated prices, but it is unclear how that order will be enforced.
