UEFA denies the scandal
Did an England fan have to spend the night in the Schalke Arena?
18.06.2024, 15:28
An English fan is said to have woken up all alone in the Arena in Schalke the morning after the European Championship match against Serbia. UEFA is now clearing up the matter. Meanwhile, the European association is also investigating another case related to the English match.
According to UEFA, the Tiktok video of a fan’s alleged overnight stay in the Schalke football arena was not taken after England’s European Championship match against Serbia. “It is obvious that this video was not taken during the tournament or even in the last few weeks, as there is no signage, no branding and no UEFA EURO 2024 protocol elements in the stadium,” the European Football Union said in response to a request from the German Press Agency.
Furthermore, there are no line markings on the pitch, which would be visible if the video had actually been recorded in the hours after the match. In fact, no UEFA signs, posters or markings are visible on the video, but the fan is also mainly filming his face.
The video made the rounds on the Internet on Monday evening. Numerous media outlets reported on it. In it, the man, who was allegedly forgotten in the stadium and pretended to be sleepless, says: “I’ve just woken up. It’s four in the morning. I’m shaking.” Then he pans the camera through the empty arena, where the lights are on.
Alleged racist incident at England game
The video was posted the day after the game by the account “away day lads” among others. “England fan who woke up in the stadium at 4am this morning,” it said. It is unclear who the author of the video is.
Meanwhile, according to English media reports, UEFA is also investigating an alleged racist incident at the European Championship match between England and Serbia. According to the report, a Serbian fan made monkey noises towards the English players. The fan was not arrested or expelled from the stadium during the English team’s 1-0 win in Gelsenkirchen, even though stewards and police were present, but UEFA is now investigating the case, reported the “Mirror”.
The association itself did not comment specifically. However, a statement said that the UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector was conducting an investigation into alleged discriminatory behavior. According to media reports, no English player heard the chants and the English Football Association did not complain. UEFA has observers in every stadium.