Status: 26.06.2021 12:49 p.m.
So far, EURO 2020 has also represented the return of fans to the stadiums. The “way back to normal” may come too early, however: the first infections can be attributed to games and trips to them. In some places, the usable capacity of the stadiums is still being increased.
The British government is currently increasing the number of spectators: the round of 16 between England and Germany will take place in Wembley in front of even more fans. More than 40,000 people are admitted, up from 21,500 before. There will be more than 60,000 for the semi-finals and the final – although the seven-day incidence in Great Britain has almost doubled to more than 120 over the course of the tournament.
“We can see that this UEFA hygiene concept does not work at the front and rear,” says Dagmar Freitag (SPD), chairman of the sports committee of the Bundestag, in an interview with WDR 5. “The fans don’t keep a distance of 1.5 meters and wearing the masks – that’s only written on paper. ” The mask requirement does not apply in every stadium. The fear on Friday, however, is clear: the European Championship, which UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin recently described as a “beacon of hope” for a return to normalcy, could encourage the spread of the virus.
Numerous infections among Finnish fans
This connection has been proven to different extents in two countries. On Thursday, Finnish authorities said that at least 86 fans of the Finnish team had been diagnosed with the virus after their return from Saint Petersburg. Finland played there against Russia (0: 1) and against Belgium (0: 2), up to 50 percent of the places were available. The positive tests were carried out at the border when the people returned.
Due to the rush, however, numerous people returned without a test due to a lack of test capacities. They were all asked to take tests afterwards. “These are people who have attended the games,” said a doctor responsible at the central border crossing, according to the Reuters news agency. Not only the games themselves are potentially a danger, flights, train rides or visits to bars are also part of the EM match days. And not just in Saint Petersburg.
Infections in Copenhagen – thousands of fans asked to test
There were also fans who tested positive in Denmark. 16 people tested positive after the Denmark-Russia game in Copenhagen. Thousands of fans who were in the same grandstand were asked to take part in a PCR test. After the game between Denmark and Belgium, the delta variant was also proven in nine viewers, authorities said. In Copenhagen, only around 25 percent of the spaces should initially be used. As at Wembley, the number was increased – to more than 73 percent.
As part of the three games in Munich, each of which up to 14,500 people were allowed to attend, there were a total of twelve positive rapid tests. According to the Munich health department, six people who wanted to go to the stadium were positive in “several thousand tests”. Six other fans who tested positive were in the city for other reasons, for example for public viewing.
| Stadion | Fans | workload |
|---|---|---|
| Budapest | 61,000 | 100% |
| London from semi-finals | 65,000 | 75% |
| Copenhagen | 25,000 | 73% |
| London Round of 16 2 | 45,000 | 50% |
| Baku | 31,000 | 50% |
| St. Petersburg | 30,500 | 50% |
| Seville | 16,000 | 35% |
| Amsterdam | 16,000 | 33% |
| Bucharest | 13,000 | 25% |
| Rome | 14,500 | 25% |
| Glasgow | 12,000 | 25% |
| London Round of 16 1 | 21,500 | 24% |
| Munich | 14,500 | 20% |
Germany with a success in the round of 16 in Rome
The German team will have to play in the round of 16 in London without a fan from Germany. The DFB only sells the tickets to which it is entitled to German fans who live in Great Britain, Ireland or on the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. For fans residing in Germany it would have been difficult anyway: Anyone wishing to travel to Great Britain from Germany must be quarantined both in Great Britain and when returning to Germany.
If Germany wins this game, it will continue in the quarter-finals in Rome – in Italy there is an emergency due to the pandemic, entry without quarantine is possible with proof of a negative test, a full vaccination or a recovery. But Dagmar Freitag doubts that the trips are a good idea, especially with a view to the finals, when more than 60,000 people are allowed to enter the stadium at Wembley.
“These people go back to their families, groups of friends and to their workplaces. I think we will never know exactly which infections have happened and in what numbers. But UEFA at least approves of the fact that there are so many people who have not yet been vaccinated infect “says Friday. “It is shocking how little consideration is given to people’s health in organized sport in times of a global pandemic.”
Source: sportschau.de