Thursday, July 01, 2021
Seehofer: “Irresponsible”
UEFA defends itself against criticism of fan return
The return of the audience at the EM remains controversial. The anger at UEFA is growing. But she rejects any criticism. The responsibility lies with the local authorities, says the European Football Union. Sharp criticism comes from the Federal Minister of the Interior.
The European Football Union (UEFA) is sticking to its plans for the controversial admission of spectators to the European Championship. The measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic are fully coordinated with the regulations of the responsible local health authorities at each venue, said UEFA. The final decision on the number of spectators admitted to the matches and the entry requirements are the responsibility of the local authorities – UEFA follows them.
On the other hand, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer once again received sharp criticism. He considers the position of UEFA to be “absolutely irresponsible,” he said at the federal press conference in Berlin. “We all know that avoiding contact and certain hygiene regulations are essential in order to overcome the infections one day,” said Seehofer. But if you see the pictures of “people who are very close to each other” and “celebrate success with big hugs”, it is “mapped out that this promotes the infection process”.
He could “only appeal to UEFA not to pass it on to the local health authorities,” the minister said. “A sports association should explain clearly: We don’t want that, we are reducing the number of spectators.” Commerce should “not outshine the protection against infection for the population”. Before Seehofer, Vice Chancellor and SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz as well as SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach were very critical of the large number of fans returning to the stadiums.
“This is absolutely irresponsible”
“It cannot be completely ruled out that events and meetings could ultimately lead to a local increase in the number of cases,” said UEFA medical advisor Daniel Koch. “But this would not only apply to football matches, but also to all situations that are now permitted under the easing measures decided by the competent local authorities.”
The Europe-wide vaccination campaigns and border controls would “help to ensure that no new big wave starts in Europe and that the respective health systems are under pressure, as was the case with the previous waves of infections”.
In the 2-0 defeat of the German national team in the European Championship round of 16 against England on Tuesday, 41,973 spectators were in London’s Wembley Stadium. For the semi-finals and the final even 60,000 spectators are to be admitted. Because the corona numbers recently rose again in Great Britain due to the delta variant, the step is controversial. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer called the UEFA position “absolutely irresponsible”.
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