Status: 06/30/2021 6:24 p.m.
The most clear was the SPD health expert Lauterbach: UEFA was responsible for the deaths of many people. But there is also a lot of criticism of full EM stadiums. Apparently many fans in London got infected.
Tens of thousands in the football stadium and crowded at the celebrations all around – and that in cities where the delta variant of the corona virus is currently spreading massively. There has been criticism of this for a long time, but it is becoming increasingly harsh. And there are first numbers that suggest that the criticism is justified.
According to the Scottish authorities, there are almost 2000 corona cases in connection with games of the European football championship. Two thirds of those who tested positive in 1991 were fans who, contrary to advice from the north, traveled to London to play games, as the health authority Public Health Scotland announced. London is currently one of the corona hotspots in Europe.
400 of the infected were in the stadium
On June 18, the Scots had played against England in London. According to the Scottish Health Authority, almost 400 of those infected were at Wembley Stadium. Many more are likely to have been infected while partying in the city center.
When the German national soccer team lost 2-0 in the round of 16 against England on Tuesday, 41,973 spectators were in London’s Wembley Stadium. For the semifinals and the final even 60,000 spectators are to be admitted. Great Britain is – alongside Russia and Portugal – one of three European countries currently classified as virus variant areas by the federal government.
Lauterbach: UEFA responsible for many deaths
The main target of the criticism is the football association UEFA. The most obvious was the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach. He accused UEFA of being “responsible for the deaths of many people”. The game yesterday showed “how close the fans are, how often they hug and yell at each other,” said Lauterbach on Twitter. “Hundreds have certainly been infected and these are now infecting thousands in turn.”
Vice Chancellor and SPD candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also critical: “Despite all the joy about the spectacular games at this European Championship, I think it is a matter of concern how many spectators are now being allowed into some stadiums,” Scholz told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “With great effort and with great effort, we got the pandemic in Europe under control, we shouldn’t be jeopardizing that now.”
UEFA: Local authorities are responsible
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder had already said yesterday that the decisions of UEFA were “zero to understand”. What UEFA is doing is not acceptable to him, said the CSU boss. Audience numbers would be increased “for no sense or purpose”.
UEFA rejected the criticism – also with a view to the first quarter-final match between Switzerland and Spain on Friday in St. Petersburg, Russia, another Corona hotspot. Changes or even a postponement of the game are not planned, UEFA explains at the request of the dpa news agency. “The final decision regarding the number of viewers always rests with the respective local authorities.”
The British government advises fans from their own country not to travel to the European Championship quarter-final between England and Ukraine. It will be held in Rome on Saturday – and thus in a city that currently has comparatively low corona numbers. The Italian corona rules prescribe a five-day quarantine for travelers from Great Britain. British fans would therefore miss the game.
Criticism of UEFA grows – fear of further travel restrictions due to Delta variant
Helga Schmidt, ARD Brussels, June 30, 2021 7:04 p.m.