KIEV: The Euro 2012 draw goes ahead here Friday with one shadow, at least, removed after the Polish authorities decided not to press on for now with a corruption investigation into federation president Grzegorz Lato.

Europe’s main event for national teams is being co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine next June and the lucky 16 will be sorted into their various groups at a televised ceremont in theĀ Ukraine capital.

Last week Lato – topĀ  scorer at the 1974 World Cup finals – appeared to be facing dismissal after new Sports Minister Joanna Mucha notified prosecutors he might be involved in a corruption case.

But the last time the Sports Ministry sought to meddle in federatio9n (PZPN) business the country was threatened by world federation FIFA with suspension. That would hardly be a useful risk to run, considering Poland is supposed to be welcoming the rest of the continent next summer.

Government spokesman Pawel Gras said: “We are in a very particular time before the Euro 2012 and any abrupt moves are not advisable but when the tournaments end, I think we will have to heal this situation somehow.”

The centre-right government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a keen football fan, hopes hosting Euro 2012 will help showcase Poland’s economic success and has used the event to push forward with a busy infrastructure development programme.