Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Sunday hit out at UEFA after losing Euro 2020 mathces in Dublin.
UEFA was demanding that stadium would have to be 25% full which would have meant just over 11,000 fans attending Euro 2020 games at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Martin believes that the European Football Association (UEFA) makes impossible demands on the host countries of the Euro 2020.
UEFA is set to decide on Friday what to do with Munich, Bilbao and Dublin, which have been unable to guarantee fan attendance.
“To be honest, I think UEFA has gone too far to demand this from the host countries. They try to force the fans in. To demand this at an early stage is, in my view, a wrong decision by a football association.” Martin said.
“It was not a realistic proposition. Considering what is happening with the British all over Europe variant of the coronavirus, then you cannot do such a thing.” Martin added.
The twelve host countries had to be able to guarantee at the beginning of this month that they will be able to allow fans in their stadiums next summer. However, the Irish government could not guarantee this due to the corona pandemic.
Coronavirus measures will be slightly relaxed in Ireland next week. Martin hoped that the Irish will be able to enjoy the popular Gaelic football again in the summer, a combination of football and rugby.
The Irish football team was unable to qualify for the European Championship. Meanwhile Saint Petersburg takes over the three group matches that would be played in Dublin.
Euro 2020 runs from June 11 to July 11 having been postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
