By Andrew Warshaw
April 23 – Bilbao and Dublin have been stripped of hosting rights by UEFA for this summer’s delayed Euro 2020 Championship because of concerns over whether fans would be definitely be allowed into stadia.
UEFA made it clear in recent weeks that stadiums had to be at least 25% full for venues to be allowed to hold on to their fixtures.
But with just seven weeks to go, coronavirus restrictions in and around both Dublin and Bilbao have forced UEFA to take decisive action, affecting Poland, Spain, Sweden and Slovakia – the four teams that had scheduled to play their matches in one or other of the two cities.
Uefa have promised ticket-holders for Bilbao and Dublin games that they will get “priority access on a first-come, first-served basis” for the reorganised matches.
Munich, which had been in doubt for the same reasons, keeps its place in 12-venue competition after around 14,000 spectators were guaranteed.
Bilbao’s fixtures will stay in Spain but move to Seville while St Petersburg and Wembley will share the matches that were supposed to go to Dublin.
In a statement UEFA explained: “The four matches initially scheduled to take place in Bilbao will be moved to the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville. The hosting of these matches is supported by the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, which has confirmed its intention of allowing spectators at 30% of the stadium capacity for the three Group E matches and a round of 16 match.”
“Following the decision of the local authorities, it was clear that fans were very unlikely to be able to attend the matches that were scheduled to be played there [Bilbao].
“Therefore, with the assistance of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), UEFA proposed to move those matches to another venue in that host country, simply to allow fans to attend the games after a year of not being able to watch live football in stadiums.
“This decision will create a festive atmosphere at all matches taking place in UEFA’s flagship national team competition.”
“The three Group E matches initially scheduled for Dublin, will be reallocated to the St Petersburg Stadium, which is already hosting three Group B matches and a quarter-final. The round of 16 match initially scheduled in Dublin, will be moved to Wembley in London.”
Group E is the only one to be directly affected by the changes before the knockout round. Spain will now play all three of their group games in Seville rather than Bilbao, while Poland vs Slovakia, Sweden vs Slovakia and Sweden vs Poland will all take place in Russia – far further afield than originally planned.
The switch of Dublin’s last-16 game to Wembley – featuring the winner of Group D against the runner-up in Group F – could mean England, who play all their Group matches in London against Scotland, Croatia and the Czech Republic, being able to play their first-knockout match at their national stadium should they win their group.
The pan-European finals were the brainchild of former UEFA president Michel Platini, but the format left the European football’s governing body scrambling as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage across the continent. England, with its hugely successful vaccination programme, are suddenly the main beneficiaries, somewhat of an irony given the country has the highest Covid-related death rate in Europe.
It may not be a home tournament as such for England but with Wembley already hosting the semi-final and final, the changes mean all but one of a potential seven-game run to the final would not be at the national stadium – a quarter-final in Rome
St Petersburg, which staged six games at the last World Cup, are the other big winners, having apparently indicated it will deliver 50 per cent capacity crowds at least at the Gazprom Arena.
“We have been working diligently with the host associations and local authorities to ensure a safe and festive environment at the games, and I am really pleased that we are able to welcome spectators at all matches for a celebration of national team football across the continent,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin who will be relieved a solution has been found after several tortuous weeks.
“”UEFA wishes to express its appreciation and gratitude to the cities of Bilbao and Dublin – both of which are considered as good venues to host future UEFA events – the national and regional governments of Spain and the Republic of Ireland, and all local stakeholders for their dedication, professionalism and efforts over the past years.
“UEFA would also like to thank the Football Association of Ireland and its dedicated staff for their excellent collaboration and hard work, and is looking forward to continuing to work with the remaining eleven host associations in delivering Euro 2020 matches.”
Bilbao authorities have reacted furiously saying they “will not allow Bilbao or the Basque institutions to be taken for a ride.
“Nor are we going to allow the proven and long-standing experience and capability of the Basque authorities to manage and organise international events to be called into question.’
The city is seeking legal advice to recoup the costs it has incurred.
“The contract that unites us with UEFA and with the RFEF and the official communication of UEFA is already in the hands of the legal services of the so-called ‘Bilbao Committee’ for study and evaluation,” a statement said. “And so that the compensation of the amounts invested to date in organising the event, which amounts to more than €1.2 million, as well as the possible damages caused by said decision can be evaluated.”
Earlier this week, Irish deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar indicated that Dublin was struggling to meet the requirement for fans. “We think June is too soon,” he said.
“I think if they continue to insist on [having 25%of the stadium full], it’ll be hard for it to go ahead quite frankly, which is unfortunate.”
Ireland have not qualified so at least local fans will not miss out on seeing the national team.
But Ireland’s Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin was nevertheless hugely disappointed.
“We were hopeful that we were all set to host a fantastic tournament in Dublin in June,” she said. “However, despite our commitment to hosting the games, the public health situation has meant that we were not able to give UEFA the assurances they required earlier this month in relation to guaranteeing minimum spectator attendance levels.”
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