The EM 2021 is currently providing a lot of discussions.
There was again excitement before the round of 16 - but UEFA immediately put the blame on.
Budapest - What a mood in Budapest!
The Hungarian capital was almost completely wrapped in orange on Sunday, after all, the Dutch national team played against the Czech Republic on Sunday evening for the quarter-finals at the EM 2021 *.
The Elftal fans created a great atmosphere on the Danube before the game. But: There was once again great excitement at this European Championship * and once again Hungary was to play a leading role. What happened? Apparently some supporters from the Netherlands had to surrender their rainbow flags. These stand for tolerance, equality and acceptance of people who live a different sexuality than heterosexuality. In this context, there is a big discussion in Hungary about a law that was approved by parliament last week: It restricts the information rights of young people with regard to homosexuality and transsexuality in Hungary and is a particular concern of Prime Minister Viktor Orban .
EM 2021: Excitement before the round of 16 - Netherlands fans have to hand in rainbow flags
As
De Telegraaf
reported before the Holland game, some Oranje fans had to surrender their rainbow flags, their symbols of tolerance.
They had attuned to the game in a so-called fan zone in the city center, but security guards then forced them to surrender their flags.
The excitement among the Oranje fans quickly grew: I beg your pardon?
No rainbow colors here and later in the stadium either?
What is UEFA doing here again?
The Dutch association and UEFA reacted immediately.
And made it clear: The colorful flags are allowed in the stadium, because the European Football Association itself decides which equipment the fans are allowed to bring.
Outside, however, for example in a fan zone, the respective local authorities are responsible.
On Sunday evening that was the city of Budapest, or rather the country of Hungary - and there you don't like to see the rainbow flags because of the aforementioned law!
EM 2021: UEFA for rainbow campaign in the criticism - But the clarification follows immediately
Recently, there have been major discussions about the Allianz Arena in Munich: It was not allowed to shine in rainbow colors before the DFB-Elf's last group game against Hungary *. UEFA justified this by stating that it was “a politically and religiously neutral organization based on its statutes”. "In view of the political context of this particular request - a message aimed at a decision by the Hungarian Parliament - UEFA has to reject this request." After Hungary's Prime Minister Orban had been heavily criticized for his stance and the discontent surrounding the game in Munich was getting louder and louder, he had canceled his planned visit to the Allianz Arena at short notice.
Back to Budapest: The full statement on the rainbow flags collected by the local authorities from Holland fans reads: “Today, UEFA informed the Hungarian Football Association that rainbow-colored symbols are not political and that they comply with the requirements of the UEFA EqualGame campaign. This fights against all forms of discrimination, including those directed against the LGBTQI + community. The flags will be allowed in the stadium. Contrary to some reports in the Dutch media, UEFA wants to make it clear that it has not banned rainbow-colored symbols from the fan zone in Budapest, which is the responsibility of the local authorities. UEFA would very much welcome such symbols in the fan zone. ”But not the Hungarians.
(akl / dpa) * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA