Football: AZERI IN CRISIS; Welsh opponents face turmoil ahead of crunch Euro clash.

Byline: Mark Bloom

WALES' next 2004 European Championship opponents, Azerbaijan, are in crisis, with their national league not resuming until the weekend before they play Mark Hughes' side at the Millennium Stadium.

Azerbaijan government officials last month raided the football association's offices, confiscating all computers and paperwork over alleged tax evasion.

AFFA spokesman Rufat Zeynalov, who originally declared the European Championship qualifier with Wales would go ahead, said today: 'The AFFA are looking forward to playing Wales later this month, but our domestic game is a mess, it's a terrible situation.

'Our national league will restart on March 22, the players have been trying to play football outside the country.

'Although our normal starting 11 play their football in countries such as Russia, Iran and the Ukraine, the rest of the squad play in Azerbaijan.'

The government has allowed the national and Under-21 teams to continue their preparations for European competitions.

The tax ministry returned all the needed documents, concerning the national and Under-21 team, which included visas and passports.

The ministry received a note from AFFA president Fuad Musayev, where he thanked the officials for such treatment with national and Under-21 teams.

This means, the ministry is not going to prevent the activity of football teams, although it accused the AFFA of cheating the government over a number of years for not paying taxes.

The Azerbaijan government is still pursuing the matter saying: 'The footballers of Azerbaijan must not suffer because of AFFA officials' tricks.'

The AFFA have a separate account with Europe's footballing governing body Uefa, in which money is released for international purposes only.