By Andrew Warshaw
March 18 – As speculation grows into whether UEFA will ultimately replace certain venues from hosting games at this summer’s delayed Euro 2020, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (pictured) has given the biggest hint yet that some cities could be axed.
The one-off pan-European tournament is scheduled to take place across 12 cities and UEFA is due to make a final decision next month as to whether all of them can still be used when the tournament kicks off in June.
Even though football is still being played in empty stadiums across Europe, Ceferin has been quoted as saying that all venues must allow a certain number of fans to attend, raising questions to whether countries with a spike in Covid cases, or those with the strictest restrictions, will be able to comply.
“Every host must guarantee there will be fans at their games,” Ceferin said. “The sure thing is that it will not be played before the empty stands.”
UEFA is believed to want host cities ideally to operate stadiums at a minimum of one quarter capacity. Reports earlier this month suggested Glasgow, Dublin and Bilbao face being dropped if authorities refuse to permit fans.
“We have set a deadline of April 20 for the final decision on the Euros,” said Ceferin.
“The ideal scenario is to play the tournament in the original 12 venues, but if that is not possible then it will go ahead in either 10 or 11 countries if one or more of the venues cannot meet the required conditions.”
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