Effenberg’s radical plan would see Hampden frozen out for the Euros
German legend, Stefan Effenberg, has demanded UEFA relocate Euro 2020 to his own country and dump Scotland as a co-host this summer.
And he reckons that top players will refuse to play in the tournament if it retains its 12 venues, including Hampden Park. European football’s governing body will make their final decision on the format of the multi-city tournament in March.
But with no sign of the Covid-19 pandemic relenting, and foreign travel already restricted across Europe, UEFA are under increasing pressure to ditch the idea of playing the games in countries across the Continent. Former Scotland boss, Berti Vogts, has already urged them to postpone the tournament until the end of the year, while a leading German scientist and politician demanded they scrap the tournament altogether. Scotland have qualified for their first major tournament in 23 years, and are due to play the Czech Republic (June 14) and Croatia (June 22) at Hampden, as well as a showdown with England at Wembley on June 18.
The stadium in Glasgow’s Mount Florida is also scheduled to host two other games. But Effenberg, a Champions League-winning captain with Bayern Munich, believes UEFA should do what they did with the Europa League last season, and move the tournament en masse to the Rhine-ruhr region of Germany.
He said: “A European Championships in 12 countries this year is completely irresponsible.
“UEFA should instead host it in just one country, and that country should be Germany. “In Germany, we have everything we need to get this tournament off the ground at short notice – modern stadiums, top infrastructure and, above all, the know-how to create a perfect hygienic concept. “Germany showed in 2020 we were the envy of football because the Bundesliga was the first major sports league allowed to resume regular game operations.
“The whole world envied us, and copied the concept. “Germany is a simple one-hour flight for the majority of the participating countries. We could even play it in the Rhine-ruhr region alone. “Within a radius of 75 miles, there are enough stadiums to host all games.
“In addition to Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund, you could add Dusseldorf, Cologne, Leverkusen, Monchengladbach, Duisburg and Bochum.
“For me, it’s very simple.
“If the Euros go ahead in 12 countries, the best players will start to cancel because of fears over Covid-19.
“So play it in Germany, and have confidence the tournament will be a success. “It’s basic common sense.”