Ticket refunds now available with dwindling hope of fans at Euro matches

UEFA have written to all European Championships ticket holders to inform them of a new refund policy which is tied in with the possibility that the competition could be staged behind closed doors.

Dublin is scheduled to be one of the 12 hosts of the pan-European event which was moved to this summer in the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis.

The organisers are still planning on the basis that the finals will go ahead in the host cities but they are working on alternative scenarios which include closed-doors games and heavily-restricted capacities.

Given the volume of travel associated with the staging, the prospect of the entire event being moved to one country cannot be ruled out.

UEFA are braced to take a financial hit and it would also represent a blow to Dublin City Council given their investment with the hope of a financial return and boost to the economy.

The FAI were partners with the council and government on the Irish bid, but UEFA assumed the costs for assigning staff and project teams in the various countries.

Full stadiums being ruled out presents a logistical headache for the organisers with 90pc of tickets sold before the pandemic.

Missive

There will be three group-stage games in Dublin involving Poland, Sweden and Slovakia and a round-of-16 tie which could bring together England and Germany. Yesterday’s UEFA missive confirmed ticket holders could seek a full refund if they apply before January 26.

But the significant line in a summary of changes is that “in the event UEFA has to cancel your ticket order(s) as a result of a stadium capacity reduction or as a result of the match having to be played ‘behind closed doors’, the refund policy now specifies that you will be entitled to receive a full refund of your ticket price.”

It adds that the refund policy “also now specifically refers to a ‘pandemic’ in the definition of force majeure”.

A large number of supporters seeking a refund might make it easier for UEFA if some matches are allowed to proceed with capacities ranging from 30pc to 70pc in the best-case scenario.

But the FAI are not expecting fans to be allowed into the Aviva Stadium for the March games with Luxembourg and Qatar and anticipate it could be September before spectators attend Ireland matches.

In that context, barring dramatic developments on the vaccination front, the feeling is that if any Euros games went ahead in Dublin they would be behind closed doors.

UEFA are planning to reach firm decisions by March.