Rome (AFP)

The kick-off of Euro football will be given as planned on 11 June in Rome, the Italian capital having been "fully confirmed" Wednesday among the host cities of the pan-European tournament of the UEFA, which required the presence of the public at the Olympic Stadium.

Threatened to lose the organization of its four matches this summer, including the opening poster Italy-Turkey, the "Eternal City" has met the requirements of the European body by guaranteeing the presence of "at least 25%" spectators in the enclosure with some 68,000 seats.

The uncertainty now focuses only on Bilbao (Spain), Dublin (Ireland) and Munich (Germany).

These three cities, among the twelve initially selected for the organization of the tournament, must still provide UEFA with a satisfactory answer before Monday 19 April, the date on which the Executive Committee of the European body will decide in the last resort.

In the meantime, the governing body of the round ball can say "grazie" to Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the deadly wave of Covid-19 on the Old Continent.

The initial whistle of the Euro, planned for many months in Rome, will be given without a false note.

"UEFA today received confirmation from the Italian government, through the Italian Football Federation, that the Euro-2020 matches scheduled at the Olympic Stadium in Rome will take place with audiences", at the height of "at least 25% of the capacity of the stadium", announced the body based in Nyon in Switzerland.

She said, however, that foreign fans wishing to travel to Italy for these matches will not benefit from "any exemption" in terms of travel restrictions and quarantine.

Fans wanting to follow the Turkish, Swiss and Welsh selections in Rome, engaged in Group A against Italy, could therefore undergo periods of isolation.

- The risk of quarantines -

The same puzzle is foreseeable for foreigners wishing to follow their team to Amsterdam, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Glasgow and London, cities where the semi-finals and then the final are scheduled for July 11.

The British capital, which is to host seven matches in total but could organize more in the event of the withdrawal of one or more other cities, plans "at least 25%" of public for the three group matches, hoping for a "higher capacity "for the last four matches, according to announcements made last Friday by UEFA.

The reception of the public despite the health situation, at the same time when more contagious variants of Covid-19 are spreading, has been imposed on pain of withdrawing the organization of meetings in the cities concerned.

True sword of Damocles, the ultimatum launched for the host cities of the pan-European tournament also maintains the vagueness for certain selections, and not the least.

This is the case, for example, of the teams from France and Portugal.

Opponents in Group F, the world champions and the reigning European champions are guaranteed to face each other in Budapest on June 23 in the Hungarian capital, where the authorities are counting on crowded stands.

Conversely, the holding of their respective duels against Germany, respectively scheduled for June 15 and 19 in Munich, remains subject to the decision that the German and Bavarian authorities will take in the days to come.

St. Petersburg and Baku have for their part promised a 50% gauge and should offer foreign supporters "special procedures exempting them from entry restrictions or quarantines", according to UEFA.

The Dutch, Romanian and Danish capitals are considering "25 to 33%" of spectators, but are allowing themselves the possibility "to increase their capacities by the end of the month", UEFA having given them until April 28 to adjust their plans.

© 2021 AFP