October 16, 2007 - 22:04 AMT
Platini: it was a "mistake" to have Azerbaijan and Armenia in the same qualifying group
Azerbaijan and Armenia are likely to avoid playing each other in future European Championship and World Cup qualifiers.

UEFA president Michel Platini said Wednesday it was a "mistake" to have Azerbaijan and Armenia - which have no diplomatic relations - in the same Euro 2008 qualifying group.

"We will try that both teams never face each other again," said Platini, who was in Baku with FIFA president Sepp Blatter for the opening of the Azerbaijan soccer federation's new headquarters.

Armenia and Azerbaijan had back-to-back matches in Group A canceled in September after the two failed to agree on a neutral location. No points were given for the matches.

Both teams have failed to qualify for next year's European Championship in Austria and Switzerland, the IHT reports.