Euro 2020 Will Not Be Delayed Again, Spectators Can Attend The Stadium

JAKARTA - The head of the UEFA COVID-19 stated that it is certain that the Euro 2020 tournament, which is postponed to June this year, will not be canceled or postponed, it is even allowed to be watched live at the stadium.

The tournament was postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic which was then rescheduled for 11 June to 11 July this year.

"There is no reason the Euro is not held, it will be held", said Dr. Daniel Koch, UEFA's medical adviser for Euro 2020, in an interview with Reuters.

"There is no worst-case scenario, there is a realistic scenario and the best scenario", he continued.

Koch said that UEFA will issue a decision in early April regarding the venue and capacity of spectators after consultation with the 12 hosting countries.

But he said European football's governing body would increase the number of spectators if the situation allowed.

"I think there will be a lot of discretion at least until the end of April, the decision will have to be made by early April", Koch said.

UEFA has asked the 12 hosting countries to disclose plans for entry to the stadium and other matters.

UEFA last year has outlined four operational scenarios, namely full capacity stadiums, 50-100 percent of capacity or 20-30 percent of capacity, and matches held in closed stadiums without spectators.

When asked about the possible percentage of stadium capacity allowed for each venue, Koch replied, "I think it's much bigger than we imagined. In the fall some countries were at 30 percent, I think it might be over 30 percent".

"It is very, very difficult to predict. This is not only predicting a pandemic but also predicting politics. We are working hard in a good way that is optimistic, but how much is possible, we do not know", he said.

The cities hosting Euro 2020 are Glasgow, Dublin, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Munich, Rome, St Petersburg, Bucharest, Budapest, and Baku, while the semifinals and finals are held at Wembley Stadium, London, England.

Koch did not rule out the possibility that overseas spectators would be allowed to watch Euro 2020 matches live.

"It is too early to mention. We will look at the situation and what conditions are put forward by different countries but I hope that at least some trips can be made possible", he concluded.