Bilbao, Dublin and Glasgow risk being cut from Euros hosting

LONDON: With 100 days until the rescheduled European Championship, UEFA are considering cutting three cities from their list of 12 host venues across the continent.

Bilbao, Dublin and Glasgow are at risk of being dropped over the lack of guarantees about the number of fans that could be allowed into stadiums by June, people with knowledge of the tournament planning told reporters on Wednesday.

They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation ahead of a looming deadline for UEFA to receive the plans from host countries.

UEFA want the hosting plan settled within weeks after being forced to postpone their showpiece tournament last year due to the pandemic.

The governing body would like stadiums to have at least half of the seats filled – despite much of Europe still playing games in empty venues due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions.

UEFA are willing to take games away from cities that cannot guarantee a significant number of spectators based on an expected easing up of the pandemic by June.

Although Britain has had Europe’s deadliest outbreak, its vaccination programme is the fastest in Europe which has raised UEFA’s confidence in London’s staging of seven games at Wembley, including the semi-finals and final in July.

The British government has plans for up to 10,000 fans to return to stadiums from May but more seats could be filled within weeks, dependent on trials of coronavirus testing for fans and plans to lift many social contact restrictions from June 21.

But that only applies to England, with Scottish authorities adopting a more cautious path out of lockdown and offering no indication when fans could be allowed back into sports venues.

“We’ll see whether or not it’s possible at any point along that road for fans to actually be present to witness (the Euros),” Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said on Wednesday.

But that uncertainty in Scotland, whose leader Nicola Sturgeon is mired in a political crisis, has left UEFA weighing the option of stripping Hampden Park in Glasgow of its four matches.

The three games in the group stage and the last-16 encounter could move south of the border to England in a blow to the Scots after qualifying for their first men’s tournament since the 1998 World Cup.

UEFA could use another London location, with the country’s newest large venue – the 62,000-capacity home of Tottenham – an option.

Stadiums in Manchester or Liverpool would also be considered to spread the additional games, especially if UEFA decide to shift the four games slated for Dublin’s 51,700-capacity Aviva Stadium across the Irish Sea to England.

UEFA have yet to receive positive information from Irish authorities with the ban on fans attending games running through April 5. —