PCR tests, vaccines, big galley … The supporters did not give up to encourage the Blues

Let them be given the Legion of Honor on the spot! As Euro 2021 opens on Friday, French supporters are certainly finishing their bundle before heading for Munich, where the Blues face Germany on Tuesday. The Routard guide? Check. The toilet bag? Check. The PCR test? Check. Yes, in this new world hit by the pandemic, the Covid-19 European Championship has turned into a real organizational puzzle for the thousands of French fans who, until the end, will have refused to leave the virus outweigh their passion and appetite for travel.

“Already at the base it was a fairly complicated formula with 12 different countries, but then with the Covid…, breathes Flo, 31, historical member of the Irrésistibles Français (IF), the main group of supporters of the France team . The hardest thing to manage is that the sanitary restrictions, the protocols, change daily and that for all the organizing cities. We are dependent on the local authorities of each host country, it’s complicated. “

Uncertainty on all levels

As an example, the FIs have just learned that, contrary to what was announced so far, they will be asked to present a negative antigen test on the day of the match in order to be able to enter the Allianz Arena. “We would be asked, corrects Fabian, another member of the IF. I put conditional everywhere now because we are not sure of anything anymore. This has been our daily life for weeks, months: checking the information we have in small quantities. It creates an additional increase in stress, we are not quiet for the friends who are going to go. “

If he says that, it is because he himself had to make up his mind to drop the matter and watch the competition from his sofa in France. In question, this damn Covid-19 that Fabian had the misfortune to contract last March. “Bad luck, it falls when we do not yet know what will happen. Will it be behind closed doors, will there be gauges, which cities will ultimately organize the event? Nothing… And since at that time we were told that we would have to be vaccinated to be able to enter Germany and Hungary, I said to myself that it was dead for me and I returned my tickets. “This did not prevent him from continuing to work” for the little friends “.

To check the information that comes in every day, get in touch with UEFA, manage new cases of Covid among supporters, redispatch tickets, plan means of transport, manage reception in cities and stadiums. The list makes you dizzy. A quasi-military organization to which the IFs are now well established. “That’s it, today we are super savvy, confirms Fabian. It’s “this is happening, you do that, you manage that, I take care of this thing, three, two, one, go!” “.

Vaccinated, my brother!

To avoid experiencing the same frustration as her colleague, Flo decided to be up to date on her vaccines before the start of the competition. “I had my second dose right on time to arrive nickel in Munich! “, He rejoices, even admitting that he had to trick a little to get his second injection on time:” It was hot timing because, to be considered vaccinated in Germany for the Euro, you have to have took his second dose fourteen days before entering the territory. However, in France, the time limit went from 28 days to more than 40 to have the second injection… I hijacked the system a bit but it did. First dose on May 3, second on the 31st, I’m right on the money! “.

This does not mean that Flo is totally free from stress. Present at the Stade de France for the last prep match against Bulgaria on Tuesday, he had the bad surprise of being turned away at the entrance to the Stade de France. An invalid QR code problem appears to be. “By presenting him via the anti-Covid application, he was not recognized and I had to do an antigen test on the spot, a little hard, to be entitled to enter the stands. It scares me for Munich. If the QR code is not recognized in France, what will that give to the Allianz… What scares the most is going to be D-Day, will it be okay? We don’t know at all what to expect. “

And once there, you will also have to learn to live with multiple fears. Without forgetting to have your nostrils rummaged almost daily. Yannick Vanhée, president of the Corsairs supporters group: “We will be tested every two minutes … We will avoid taking risks, it will be permanent stress, we must not drink too much to avoid letting ourselves be go, take off his mask and party with the other supporters. We will try to create our own bubble even if it will be less supervised and we will not help but live. »Missing more than that …

Without the supporters, “a sad football” according to Pogba

Aware of the incredible efforts that his friends had to make to follow the Blues (they will be 2,800 in Munich and nearly 5,000 in Budapest for the next two games), Fabian wanted to send a message to the players: “Guys, go ahead , go get it for us because frankly we will have done everything to be there! “. As we are so cute, we passed the message directly to Paul Pogba at a press conference on Thursday. That’s good, the Manchester United midfielder also had a little tidbit to tell them.

Paul, it’s yours: “I already want to say a big thank you because in recent months we’ve seen football without supporters, sad, silent football. We see the importance of the fans when they are not there. They mean a lot to us and to football. We know that it is not easy for them to follow us, there are a lot of things to do, tests, the distance that will be between them and us, so we will give the maximum in each match for them , we want to bring them this cup! “. Chick?