Israel has offered UEFA to host Euro football next June and July, as well as Champions League or Europa League matches, if the pandemic forces European stadiums behind closed doors, has it been said. learned Wednesday from corroborating sources.
Last week, the Israeli Football Federation (ISR) - affiliated with UEFA - raised with the European body "the possibility of hosting certain Euro 2020 matches in Israel", already postponed by a year and supposed to be held in twelve countries across Europe, a spokesperson for the Israeli organization told AFP.
The two leaders of the ISR, Oren Hasson and Rotem Kemar, also offered to host "the crucial stages of the Champions League and the Europa League, as the incidence (of the pandemic) in Europe does not allow to organize the matches of June and July with the public, “continued the same source.
According to the Israeli federation, UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin "said that if there is no positive development on the continent in the coming months, the possibility of playing (in Israel) the Champions League will be certainly taken into account. "
Asked by AFP, a spokesperson for the European body confirmed that Israel had "offered the possibility for UEFA to use its infrastructure this year if necessary.
However, UEFA intends to organize all of its events - including club competition finals and the Euro - in already chosen cities and is working diligently with its partners and stakeholders to ensure this. ”
A grouping in a single country?
Israel is a health remedy for European football by highlighting its intense vaccination campaign, with 45% of the population already protected by a first injection, and its immune badge project conditioning access to sports halls, concerts or to restaurants.
Faced with travel restrictions in Europe and the spread of variants of the coronavirus, doubts have been growing for several weeks on the possibility of organizing the Euro in twelve cities in twelve countries.
In mid-January, the Swiss football boss considered it "difficult" for the tournament to remain "disseminated" across the continent, and counted on a regrouping in a single country, such as Russia or Germany, or even in a single city.
A few days later, Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also assured that Aleksander Ceferin was considering a single host country, while UEFA insisted that it wanted to stick to its initial plans.
The European body is giving itself until the beginning of April to define city by city health measures and the selected gauge, with four options: a full stadium, 50 to 100% spectators, 20 to 30%, or a closed session.
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