“Simply not possible”: Munich refuses the guarantees required by UEFA


“Simply not possible”
Munich refuses the guarantees required by UEFA

UEFA requires all host cities to allow spectators to enter the respective stadiums at the European Championship. She already has them from nine cities, but doesn’t get them from Munich. Tomorrow it will be decided whether this will mean the end of the only German location.

The city of Munich can still not guarantee the European Football Union that the four European Championship games will be held in front of spectators this summer. “At this point in time, it is simply not possible to make a statement as to whether the infection situation in June will allow spectators to enter the stadium or not,” said Munich mayor Dieter Reiter of “Welt am Sonntag”. The UEFA Executive Committee will decide during a meeting this Monday (from 10 a.m.) whether Munich can still co-host the tournament (11 June to 11 July).

According to the current Infection Protection Ordinance, events of this type with spectators are not allowed. “We hope, however, that the pandemic situation will ease up by June and that we will be able to release at least a certain percentage of the seats in the Allianz Arena for spectators with the inclusion of additional hygiene measures and possible test strategies, as is aimed at by UEFA,” said Reiter. Nine of the twelve European Championship hosts have already promised to open at least 25 percent of the stadium capacity to fans. In Budapest it could even be played in front of a full crowd.

“I can only say that there is currently a travel warning from the Foreign Office for Hungary due to the pandemic and that the country is classified as a high-risk area. In this respect, one should at least be surprised,” said Reiter, who did not want to speculate about the possible exit from Munich.

“The infection process in June will be the basis for deciding whether there are spectators in the stadium and which events related to the European Championship games can take place or not. That cannot be predicted at the moment,” said the SPD politician. “I still assume that we will see four European Championship games in Munich this summer.”

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