Budapest (AFP)
Some 15,500 spectators, overwhelmingly Hungarians, were expected Thursday evening in the Puskas stadium in Budapest for the European Supercup Bayern-Sevilla, the first European football match to reopen its doors to fans since March, UEFA told a few hours of the match.
The European Confederation had initially indicated that it wanted to fill the stadium with 68,000 seats at 30%, or around 20,000 people, for this "pilot project" aimed at experimenting with the return of the public to the stands despite the sharp rebound of the new coronavirus pandemic in Europe and in particular in Hungary.
A decision that has fueled criticism, especially from the Bavarian regional government which urged Munich fans not to go to Budapest.
"We will have 16,000 spectators in the stadium, not even 30%. The measures are strict and there is no question of health risks for the fans", defended Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, during a press conference on Thursday.
“The easiest thing would have been to do nothing, to wait. If you don't do anything, you don't make mistakes, but nothing moves. Health is our number one priority, we want to bring hope, "he added, specifying that the body was working" day and night "on the health situation and had" not decided anything for the moment on (the presence of) spectators for future matches European ".
Continental matches under the auspices of UEFA are currently scheduled behind closed doors, even in countries whose authorities have authorized the return of the public to the stadiums.
The group stage of the 2020-2021 Champions League, the draw of which is scheduled for October 1, is due to start on October 20.
Thursday evening (9 p.m.), more than 90% of the spectators expected at the stadium were to be Hungarians: around 1,200 tickets were distributed to Bayern fans and less than 350 to those of Seville, out of the 3,000 initially reserved for each delegation, a-t - a source close to the organization of the meeting is indicated.
Several hundred Bavarian fans have returned their tickets in recent days after Germany's placement of Hungary in a health "risk zone".
© 2020 AFP