At the European Championship preliminary round match on Sunday (9 p.m., ZDF live) between England and Serbia, no normal stadium beer (4.8 percent) will be served, but only light beer (2.8%) will be offered instead. The reason: the match is classified as a high-risk match. In the 62,000-seat Veltins Arena in Schalke, fans are only allowed to order two beers at a time. If they want more, they have to go back to the back of the queue. It is the only group match at this European Championship where such a measure is being taken.
Preparations are in full swing in the Gelsenkirchen stadium. At the start of the week, the prices were already visible on a sign above a drinks stand: half a liter of beer will cost fans seven euros – in the alcoholic, non-alcoholic and shandy versions.
13.30: Pavlovic misses the European Championship – Nagelsmann nominates BVB professional after
Bitter news shortly before the start of the tournament. Aleksandar Pavlovic (20) will miss the European Championship at home due to illness. The Bayern Munich midfielder is out with tonsillitis and is therefore not available to national coach Julian Nagelsmann for the tournament starting on Friday.
In the past, Pavlovic has repeatedly had problems with his tonsils – which is why he missed the March international matches against France (2:0) and Holland (2:1). Emre Can will replace Pavlovic, the DFB announced on Wednesday. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is to join the DFB team as soon as possible.
11.43 a.m.: Frenchman to referee DFB team in European Championship opening match
He is the man who once showed Thomas Müller the red card. Clément Turpin has been appointed referee for the opening match of the European Championship between hosts Germany and Scotland. As UEFA published in the match report on its website, the 42-year-old will referee the match in the sold-out Munich European Championship Arena on Friday. The Frenchman brings back some unpleasant memories for the Bayern faction in the national team. Veteran Müller was shown the red card by Turpin in the Champions League match against Ajax Amsterdam in December 2018. However, this was justified after an unintentional kung fu kick by the Munich player against his opponent.
Turpin has been refereeing at the top international level for many years. His paths crossed with the German national team at the 2016 European Championships, when he refereed the DFB team’s last group match against Northern Ireland (1:0) in the Parc des Princes in Paris. The Frenchman is considered a meticulous referee who is quick to issue yellow cards. The national players have therefore been warned. Turpin will also consistently apply the new UEFA rule, according to which only captains are allowed to intervene with the referee on the pitch.
10.07 a.m.: 110 kilograms – Süle to report because of overweight
Niklas Süle is becoming more and more of a problem case at Borussia Dortmund. In the Champions League final, the top earner sat on the bench for 90 minutes. Before he goes on holiday, he was given a clear message. Once again, it’s about his weight. Read the full story here.
9.59 a.m.: Germany against Hungary in pink jersey
The German national team will play in their white home jerseys twice in the preliminary round of the European Championship and will play in their pink away kit once. According to information from the German Press Agency, a corresponding agreement has already been made. In the opening game on Friday in Munich against Scotland and in the final group match on June 23 in Frankfurt against Switzerland, Germany will play in white – against Hungary in Stuttgart on June 19 in pink.
The new jerseys were presented last March. The new away jersey, which was widely discussed on social media, became a bestseller in the following weeks, according to supplier Adidas.
9.01 a.m.: Munich Arena in rainbow colours on two European Championship days
The Munich Arena will be lit up in rainbow colors during the European Championship on June 22 and 23. The occasion is Christopher Street Day in the Bavarian capital, and the European Championship organizers confirmed a corresponding application. A European Championship game will not be held in Munich on those two days. The lighting was a major controversial issue during the 2021 European Championship. UEFA had rejected a request from the city to have the arena lit up in rainbow colors for the third group game against Hungary. The background to the application was the protest against a law passed in Hungary at the time that restricted the information rights of young people with regard to homosexuality and transsexuality.
This is what the stadium will look like on Christopher Street Day
Source: dpa/Sven Hoppe
UEFA justified the decision with the political background of the application, which was also directed against the Hungarian team and the Hungarian fans. Munich will host six matches at this European Championship, including the opening match this Friday between Germany and Scotland. This will be followed by three further group matches on 17, 20 and 25 June, as well as a round of 16 match (2 July) and a semi-final match (9 July). The DFB selection will play against Hungary on 19 June in Stuttgart.
8.33 a.m.: Personnel concerns in Italy
Italy has personnel problems. At the first training session of the selection in Iserlohn, three midfielders were unable to complete the full session. Coach Luciano Spalletti is most worried about regular player Nicolò Barella, who has been suffering from muscular problems since the beginning of June. The 27-year-old from Inter Milan completed an individual program.
In addition, Davide Frattesi and Nicolò Fagioli were injured during the first training session on Tuesday. Barella’s Inter team-mate Frattesi, who scored the 1-0 goal in the last European Championship test against Bosnia-Herzegovina and was also an important player for Spalletti, ended the session early. Fagioli also completed an individual program. The 23-year-old played his first game for the national team on Sunday against Bosnia-Herzegovina after his seven-month ban for his involvement in the betting scandal.
7.43 a.m.: Lamine Yamal can become the youngest European Championship player
The Spaniard Lamine Yamal can become the youngest player in the history of the European Championship on Saturday. The 16-year-old striker from FC Barcelona has a good chance of being in the starting eleven in the first group match against Croatia in Berlin (6 p.m./ARD and Magenta TV). Yamal will turn 17 on July 12.
Lamine Yamal is expected to play against Belgium on Saturday
Source: REUTERS
The youngest European Championship footballer to date was Jude Bellingham, then from Dortmund, in 2021 at 17 years and 349 days. Yamal made his debut for Barcelona in the Spanish first division at the age of 15 and became the youngest debutant and goalscorer in the Spanish national team last year in the 7-1 win against Georgia at the age of 16 years and 57 days.
20:28: Rettig defends sponsorship deal with Nike
DFB managing director Andreas Rettig has once again defended the new sponsorship deal with the American company Nike. “We contacted 13 companies and ultimately negotiated with three of them. What Nike offered was unacceptable. An eight-year contract with a three-digit million euro contract,” explained Rettig after the separation from long-time sponsor Adidas in 2026.
“We cannot explain to our members that this money should be left lying around. And Nike is not a robber’s den. The money helps the development of football in Germany,” said the 61-year-old on Tuesday evening during the “Rheinische Post” Euro talk: “It’s not like the managing director gets a pay rise.” He is also a child of Adidas, said Rettig. “But there was pressure on the boiler in terms of the economic situation,” he said. We have to get rid of this patriotism. “Anyone who doesn’t drive a VW is not a traitor to the fatherland,” said Rettig.
15:32: Orban in high-risk encounter against Germany
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be watching the German national team’s European Championship match against Hungary in Stuttgart on June 19. The Baden-Württemberg State Ministry confirmed the travel plans on Tuesday. Orbán will also attend his national team’s second match in Stuttgart on June 23 against Scotland.
According to Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens), high-ranking guests from the teams’ respective countries are also expected to attend other games and receptions.
The two games between Hungary and Germany and Scotland are considered high-risk matches by the security forces. Four preliminary round matches and a quarter-final are to take place in Stuttgart. The first group match between Slovenia and Denmark is scheduled for June 16, and three days later hosts Germany will face Hungary. The Ukrainian national team will play against Belgium in Stuttgart on June 26.