Suspension 2020.Eurocopa: A sacrifice to preserve health and avoid football ERTE
UEFA does not want a European Championship without an audience in the stands and could withdraw the organization from some of the twelve host cities across the continent if they are unable to have spectators in the stadium, adding pressure on local authorities.
"If a city proposes a plan behind closed doors, it will not be automatically excluded" but the matches that should be played there "could" be transferred "to other cities that have the capacity to host spectators," the European body told AFP.
UEFA president
Aleksander Ceferin
had assured the Croatian daily Sportske Novosti on Sunday that the matches of the European Championship (June 11-July 11), a tournament that has already been delayed by a year due to the pandemic compared to its initial dates in 2020 , they will not be disputed "before empty stands".
"All hosts must guarantee the presence of fans", had insisted the UEFA leader, who until now considered four options for each city: stadium at full capacity, 50 to 100% of spectators, 20 to 30% or door closed.
From now on "the only thing we still do not know" is the limit of authorized spectators in the venues, if "it will be 100% or less", Ceferin had added.
"Baseless and irresponsible"
Conceived in its day by former UEFA president
Michel Platini
to celebrate 60 years of the tournament, this unprecedented format must take place in Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, Munich, Rome, Saint Petersburg and London (semifinals and final in the British capital).
At a time when the spread of covid-19 variants prevents the relaxation of health precautions in Europe, the demand of the instance could force to modify the planned format.
"A withdrawal from Munich is not in our plans," they said this Wednesday from the German Organizing Committee, referring to the four Eurocup matches scheduled in the Bavarian city.
Munich Mayor
Dieter Reiter
also regretted UEFA's unilateral announcement: "I would like UEFA officials, more at this time, to seek joint solutions with the host cities," he said.
"As things are, we cannot say if the levels of contagion of covid-19 will allow us to play with the public in June. With the regulations currently in force, this type of demonstration is not authorized," he added.
The chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of the sports commission of the Bundestag (the lower house of the German parliament),
Dagmar Freitag
, attacked UEFA head-on: "In view of the problems with the pandemic facing the twelve countries hosts, UEFA's request is irresponsible and unfounded, although it does not surprise me, "he told AFP affiliate SID sports agency.
London as a solution?
The European body has given each city until April 7 to "present its plan" and expects to make the decision "at the latest" in its Executive Committee on April 19, which takes place on the eve of its annual Congress, scheduled in Montreux (Switzerland).
This European Championship distributed in cities of twelve countries already had significant logistical complications before the pandemic, but since the appearance of covid-19 it has raised many doubts.
In recent months, its viability is concerned, taking into account the variable restrictions between countries in Europe.
Thinking about possible 'plans B', British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
said in early March that his country could host "other parties" in addition to those already planned.
London has seven games scheduled, including the semi-finals and the final, but its infrastructure and high number of stadiums with significant capacity make it a tempting alternative.
Budapest and Bucharest, meanwhile, have also assigned Euro Cup matches and in the knockout stages of the Champions League they offered to host matches that had to be relocated due to the restrictions in force.
In mid-February, Israel offered to host "some Eurocup matches", asserting its high vaccination rate.
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