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Ukraine coach suspects German sabotage after team struck down with food poisoning

The Ukrainians who weren't poisoned enough to miss the friendly defeat to Turkey (Getty)
The Ukrainians who weren't poisoned enough to miss the friendly defeat to Turkey (Getty)

Ukraine final warm-up game before Euro 2012 resulted in a 2-0 loss to Turkey on Tuesday night, but the co-hosts were hampered by a bout of food poisoning that put ten players out of action.

Coach Oleg Blokhin has said that Andriy Shevchenko, Andriy Voronin and Taras Mykhalyk were among those who complained of stomach upsets early on Tuesday morning, while Anatoly Tymoshchuk was still being treated on a drip after the game. "The situation is far from funny," he snapped at journalists who probably weren't laughing.

Ukraine's defeat took place in Ingolstadt, Germany, just a few days before the start of the tournament. Therefore, Blokhin has not ruled out food-based sabotage from the Germans. From Eurosport:

"It happened in Germany, but it is impossible to establish the causes — they all ate different food," coach Oleg Blokhin told Ukrainian television.

"It may have been sabotage, I do not know. It cannot be accidental."

No offence to Ukraine, but if Germany were going to sabotage the preparations of a competing nation, they might target a team who is in their group, or who actually poses some kind of threat to them?

Since Blokhin's melodramatic comments, the Ukrainian team doctor has said he believes the food poisoning to be ''the bad effects of eating a salad," and a team spokesman added that the full 23-man squad is expected to train on Thursday.