The recent Moscow theatre siege, and crowd trouble in the Uefa Cup tie between Greek side Panathinaikos and Turkish side Fenerbahce, has knocked the respective countries' chances of staging the finals.

Johansson was asked whether the trouble between Fenerbahce and Panathinaikos fans could have an effect on the joint candidature from Greece and Turkey.

The Uefa president said: "It's true. And there was also this terrible hostage drama in Moscow.

"That will also be taken into consideration for the final decision, as well as what has happened in Ireland.

"We have to bear that in mind," Johansson told Swiss-French paper Le Dimanche.

Ireland's joint bid with Scotland has been dogged by the refusal of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to allow their Croke Park stadium to be used for football.

Johansson denied that the joint bid from Austria and Switzerland was the favourite.

The Uefa president said: "It is a candidature that makes sense."

"Switzerland is building new stadiums and possesses long-lasting assets such as financial and political stability, its communication network, its accommodation capabilities and its security.

"Switzerland's chances are therefore very realistic."

But he denied that the Austrian-Swiss bid sits alongside a joint bid from the Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, as the favourites.

"If you say that, you know more than I do," said Johansson, who confirmed that if the Nordic bid was successful, the four home teams would not qualify automatically for the finals.

Uefa are currently considering bids from seven countries or partnerships to stage the 2008 tournament.

Russia and Hungary are the solo candidates, with Bosnia-Croatia joining the other three joint bids.

A decision is expected from the executive committee on 12 December.