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The tremors around Munich came to an end last Friday.
The city will definitely be the venue for the European Football Championship starting on June 11th.
Four games will be played in the Allianz Arena, due to the relentless pressure of the European football association Uefa, despite the Corona crisis, the games should even take place in front of at least 14,500 fans.
The political struggle over the emotional audience question is by no means over seven weeks before the start of the tournament.
In their interpretation of the fan decision, Uefa, German politics and the German Football Association (DFB) were very far apart.
"Everything is subject to the pandemic situation," said State Chancellor Florian Herrmann (CSU) last Friday, contradicting the clear Uefa statement of a fixed audience decision.
"The Uefa Executive Committee met today via video conference and was informed that the responsible authorities have approved the implementation of all four Uefa Euro 2020 games in Munich with at least 14,500 spectators, which is why the city has been confirmed as the venue," it said however, in a communication from the association.
Politics contradict Uefa
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Munich's Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter saw the situation completely differently than Uefa: "I am pleased that Uefa has apparently kindly recognized that Munich is an attractive location even without audience guarantees," said the SPD politician.
Chancellor Angela Merkel also did not want to give UEFA a promise for fans at the European Championship games in Munich.
During a 90-minute digital panel discussion in the series “The Chancellor in Conversation”, Merkel spoke to cultural workers to gain understanding for the Corona measures.
“I can understand the great frustration.
It's a sad time, ”said Merkel.
Chancellor Angela Merkel does not want to guarantee that spectators will be allowed into the stadium at the European Championship games in Munich
Source: dpa / Carstensen, Jörg
She emphasized that so far there has been no promise that spectators will be admitted to games in Munich at the European Championship.
“We cannot give the audience to football and they cannot,” says the Chancellor, referring to steps towards opening up in the cultural sector.
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A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior emphasized that "it will be made dependent on the occurrence of the infection whether there is a possibility of admitting spectators into the stadium or not."
The DFB is still hoping for fans in the stadium where the national team plays their three preliminary round matches. The games in Munich will "continue to be carefully and responsibly prepared and organized," said Philipp Lahm, who is the chief organizer of the 2024 European Championship in Germany. “Corona determines our entire life. The health and protection of people are our top priority, ”Lahm emphasized. Association boss Fritz Keller said the games could "maybe even take place in front of an audience", "if the pandemic development allows".