WARSAW (AFP) Polands Sports Minister Miroslaw Drzewiecki quit Monday saying he did not want corruption claims against him to damage the countrys preparations to host the 2012 European football championships. I have made my own decision. I am handing my resignation to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, with immediate effect, Drzewiecki, who has denied graft allegations, told reporters. I now need to defend my good name ... and I cant allow preparations for Euro 2012 to be affected. Polands CBA anti-graft agency has accused Drzewiecki, 56, of using his political influence to modify draft legislation on gambling, purportedly to enable casino owners to duck a requirement to help finance sports events. Zbigniew Chlebowski, 45, parliamentary leader of Tusks liberal Civic Platform party, has also been caught up in the case. The Polish sports world has been mired in graft scandals for years, notably related to match-fixing in the domestic football league. In April 2007, European footballs governing body, UEFA, raised eyebrows by choosing Poland and Ukraine over Italy and joint bidders Hungary and Croatia to host the quadrennial, 16-team European championships. Euro 2012 will mark the first time either Poland or Ukraine has run a major tournament and is UEFAs first big foray into the ex-communist bloc. There have been repeated jitters about their ability to build and upgrade stadia, hotels and transport infrastructure. While UEFAs concerns about Poland have largely subsided in May, it finally confirmed the four Polish host cities Ukraine remains under pressure and has until November 30 to show it can make the grade.