England fans have been waiting 55 years to reach a major international tournament final, and just a few days later, UEFA President Alexander Ceferin has decided to pee on his parade.
Many have claimed that the Euro 2020 format has given England an unfair advantage in that six of their seven matches (including Sunday’s final) will have been played at Wembley – criticism from people who have probably forgotten that every tournament has a host nation.
In this summer’s tournament, UEFA has tried a different format with 11 different cities across Europe hosting matches, which means that some sides have had to travel much more than others.
Finalists England have only once had to play a game away from Wembley when they traveled to Rome to face Ukraine in the quarter-finals, and now the three Lions have finally found a way to thrive in major tournaments, Ceferin has confirmed that will never happen again – obviously.
“I would not support it [the format] longer, “he told BBC Sport. In a way, it is not correct that some teams have to travel more than 10,000 km while others only need to travel 1,000 km. It’s not fair to fans, who had to be in Rome one day and in Baku the next few, which is a four and a half hour flight.
“We had to travel a lot, to countries with different jurisdictions, different currencies, countries in the European Union [EU] and non-EU, so it was not easy.
Alexander Ceferin chats with Prince William at the England game / Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
“It was a format that was decided before I came [into post] and I respect that. It is an interesting idea but it is difficult to implement and I do not think we will do it again. “
One of the biggest points of discussion for getting out of Euro 2020 has been UEFA’s refusal to highlight the Allianz Arena in the colors of the rainbow for Germany’s clash with Hungary in a statement on solidarity with the LGBTQ + community.
The request stemmed from news that the Hungarian government had banned LGBTQ + content in schools or on children’s television, although Ceferin claimed that his hands were tied in the matter because UEFA could not get involved in political disputes.
“My personal opinion on human rights and diversity and UEFA’s opinion is clear,” he said. “The problem is that we received a letter with a request to light the arena in the colors of the rainbow as a protest against the government of a country in Europe and against a parliament in a country in Europe.
UEFA refused to allow Allianz Arena to be slightly illuminated in the colors of the rainbow / Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
“UEFA is an organization where by law we cannot conduct politics. We punish people if they engage in politics. We can not protest against any governments and we will not be drawn into any political struggle.”
Some people have argued that it was not certain that Euro 2020 would continue given the increase in COVID cases in some parts of Europe recently, but Ceferin says that all appropriate measures have been taken to ensure the safety of players and spectators and that the tournament has been a success.
“I have never seen such a dramatic euro as this one, with fantastic matches and surprising results,” he added. “Our health protocols are extremely tough and everyone is tested, even those who have been vaccinated. I was tested 76 times.”
While football has, of course, been brilliant, Christian Eriksen has recovered from his terrible health scare by far the best way out of Euro 2020, and the UEFA president has praised the medical staff who responded so quickly to the situation.
Teams have taken the opportunity to send their thoughts to Christian Eriksen / Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
“It was a scary situation,” he said. “We were all completely shocked, but in a way it was good that it happened at a football match at a high level because paramedics were there in 20 seconds and it saved his life, I’m sure.
“Thank goodness, everything is OK with him and it was important to show respect for him and the team of doctors, who responded fantastically.”
