Dublin could lose four Euro 2020 matches over spectator levels

Dublin was last night in danger of being stripped of its European Championship matches – with Wembley on standby to step in – after the Football Association of Ireland declined to confirm how many supporters it could accommodate.

The FAI became the first host association to announce publicly it could not provide any assurances on minimum spectator levels after all 12 were set a deadline of yesterday for submitting their plans.

That forced Uefa to decide today whether to strip Dublin of its four matches, with Wembley favourite to be asked to step in and take some or all of them. The Irish capital could yet be granted a stay of execution amid uncertainty over whether co-host Munich was able to provide the required guarantees, something that may lead to both cities being given more time to do so.

The FAI said: “The Football Association of Ireland has notified Uefa that, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is not in a position to provide assurances on minimum spectator levels at matches due to be held in Dublin in June.

“In so doing, all partners of the Dublin Local Organising Structure – government, the FAI, Aviva Stadium and Dublin City Council – recognise the challenges presented by spectator attendance and that public health issues are the most important consideration in the organisation of the project.”

There have also been doubts about Glasgow’s Hampden Park, but local organisers said yesterday: “We are delighted that the Scottish government has given approval to allow spectators up to 25 per cent of the stadium capacity [approximately 12,000] for each of the four games to be staged at Hampden Park.”

Bilbao and Amsterdam were the other co-hosts to confirm they would allow spectators at similar capacities yesterday, following Rome, Copenhagen and Bucharest, while St Petersburg previously announced it was aiming for 50 per cent attendance.

Munich, Budapest and Baku declined to reveal details of their own submissions to Uefa, although the latter two had been expected to provide assurances over fans.

The Football Association has yet to go public on its own plans for an at-least half-full Wembley for the semi-finals and final, or to comment on the announcement by Boris Johnson’s last month that the UK stood ready to stage any reallocated games.

Wembley co-hosting the tournament means the stadium must be handed over to Uefa at the start of June, preventing England playing their two Euro 2020 warm-up matches there.

The FA announced yesterday that Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium would host those games, against Austria on June 2 and Romania four days later.