Uefa plays tough nanny, keeps kids off pitch
PARIS: Yes, it is cute but, no, it is not safe.
Uefa explained on Tuesday why it does not want players’ children to join in post-match celebrations at the European Championship.
The scenes of toddlers in full Wales kit joining their dads on the pitch after another Euro 2016 win has added to the surprise semifinalist’s feel-good story and delighted spectators.
However, Uefa has asked for no more on-field family scenes when Wales plays Portugal in Lyon on Wednesday.
“It is a European Championship not a family party,” Uefa’s tournament director Martin Kallen said at a briefing. “A stadium is not the most safe place for small kids,” Kallen said. There could be problems if fans invaded the field, and stadium staff operating machinery on the playing surface could also be an issue. Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff sided with Uefa, saying: “For me it’s a bit too much at times. I think the notion that you take to the pitch as a team and stay as a team is not wrong.”
“It is nice pictures,” Kallen acknowledged. “We are not 100 per cent against it but we are cautious.”
“It is getting more and more a habit that entire family members would like to go on the pitch or into the technical area,” Kallen said. “The principle is how far you go with having other people on the pitch than the players. People with accreditation cards should be on the pitch and not more.”