Euro 2020 tickets

[Big Fifer]

3 hours ago, forameus said:

I wonder how long they'll give themselves to make a decision either way.  It looked hopeful towards the end of last year, but the events of December mean that it's looking decreasingly likely the Euros will happen "as normal" from our perspective.  I expect it'll still happen, but any option on the table seems more likely than it being hosted all over Europe with full stadiums.  

But how long can you leave that decision?  It's not like there's magically going to be this turning point.  It's basically whether or not the current vaccine plans in country make it seem realistic, and - although I can't speak for other countries - it looks like we'll be nowhere near.  By time the tournament comes around, it looks like we'll be done with at risk people, but what percentage of those would likely have been sitting in Hampden for our first game?  Hopefully their idea of making a decision isn't what it seems like now - shutter up the ticket office and hope no-one complains.

I believe decisions will be made in March. What "decision" that is I'm not sure, but guessing the possible change of location and any impact that does or does not have on fan attendance will be the key ones.

[grazza]

Returned Czechia v Croatia tickets. Works out quite well anyway as 125 Euros  x  2 was bit much for a neutral especially trying  to get in somewhere to watch Scotland after.  Tough one with Scotland v Czechia but may always regret it if I returned them while still chance at Hampden. Surely if they moved venue if there is still travel restrictions that make it impossible to go if following official government guidelines then it would be tough for them to enforce that throughout all of Europe. If  moved to destination not suitable and fans allowed then should hopefully be able to get money back and someone else can go. 

It is a real shame as this spreading the tournament across Europe was an interesting prospect and hopefully it doesn't get ruled out in future just because of Covid. With 24 team tournament don't see the need for hosts automatically qualifying in future.  Rotate it between dedicated solo hosts e.g. Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England, Russia and if they don't qualify they deserve to get the piss ripped.  Every 2nd tournament then look at a city format mainly for the other nations. 

[welshbairn]

Rather than just the big countries I'd go for groups of neighbouring ones too, like the Baltic nations maybe along with Finland; ex Yugoslavia; Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary say, and so on.

[realmadrid]

7 hours ago, grazza said:

It is a real shame as this spreading the tournament across Europe was an interesting prospect and hopefully it doesn't get ruled out in future just because of Covid. With 24 team tournament don't see the need for hosts automatically qualifying in future.  Rotate it between dedicated solo hosts e.g. Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England, Russia and if they don't qualify they deserve to get the piss ripped.  Every 2nd tournament then look at a city format mainly for the other nations. 

Germany 2024 should be a cracking competition to go to , easy access , even by car if you wanted to drive from venue to venue.

Turkey have the stadiums now but never seem to win a vote to host.

[accies1874]

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/international/opinion-euro-2020-should-be-postponed-again-until-2022-if-fans-cant-attend-otherwise-whats-point-3102924

This sums up how I'm feeling about Euro 2020. Having to watch the Serbia game at home was bad enough, but I'd rather cancel the tournament than play it behind closed doors.

[forameus]

3 hours ago, accies1874 said:

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/international/opinion-euro-2020-should-be-postponed-again-until-2022-if-fans-cant-attend-otherwise-whats-point-3102924

This sums up how I'm feeling about Euro 2020. Having to watch the Serbia game at home was bad enough, but I'd rather cancel the tournament than play it behind closed doors.

I'd say if we were talking 10-15 years ago, you'd probably be right. But modern football just makes "football without fans is nothing" seem a bit hollow. I'd imagine UEFA are going to pocket many times more money from broadcasters than they ever would from fans attending, so there's your reason for it happening. It's shite, but so is modern football a lot of the time.

[welshbairn]

Slight climb down from the no refunds for change of venue thing.

Quote

The ‘change of venue’ provisions specifically rely on whether UEFA say the ticket is valid for the re-scheduled venue for the match and UEFA would take into account matters such as reasonable travelling distances from the original venue when making that determination.”

https://www.fanseurope.org/en/news/news-3/2314-uefa-provides-update-on-euro-2020-ticketing.html

[DiegoDiego]

Turkey have the stadiums now but never seem to win a vote to host.

Van Houten/TFF: "We play in a crocodile, do you!?"
Homer/DFB: "No, we play in a democracy where you can have a pint."

[forameus]

Ah, the "got legs don't you?" clause.  It's still pretty woolly.  Given that we're only just about at the point where we're starting to stop people flowing into the country, I can't imagine there'll be complete travel bans come summer.  If you physically can get across Europe, I could still see them arguing it's valid.  

This just all seems pointless right now.  They either need to bring this fabled March decision forward, make a choice and stick to it, or let people choose once they've decided. It's pretty shady to expect people to make these financial decisions based on stuff that might be completely void in a couple of months time.

[Carnoustie Young Guvnor]

Have to say I've watched this video almost every day since the game, and get quite emotional. Watch Steven Thompson at 55 seconds, what an absolute shagger

 

 

[craigkillie]

41 minutes ago, forameus said:

Ah, the "got legs don't you?" clause.  It's still pretty woolly.  Given that we're only just about at the point where we're starting to stop people flowing into the country, I can't imagine there'll be complete travel bans come summer.  If you physically can get across Europe, I could still see them arguing it's valid.  

This just all seems pointless right now.  They either need to bring this fabled March decision forward, make a choice and stick to it, or let people choose once they've decided. It's pretty shady to expect people to make these financial decisions based on stuff that might be completely void in a couple of months time.

In my opinion they are trying to softly encourage some people to ask for refunds now so that if they have limited crowds they don't have the challenge of having to essentially get in touch with some ticket holders to say "sorry, you can't come any more".

I don't think they would have any genuine legal argument for selling someone a ticket for an event in Glasgow and then instead expecting them to go to Vladivostok. Regardless of the terms and conditions, that seems like something that wouldn't be legally enforceable.

[Latino Lover]

[DiegoDiego]

Thought that was a guy in a leather jacket and white t-shirt, didn't read the name properly, and wondered why the Fonz had such an interest in the Euros.

[Lyle Lanley]

Wonder if the SFA will announce ticket sales soon. 

[Exile1999]

I doubt there will be any additional ticket sales. If you have a ticket then you are hoping yours is one that doesn’t get cancelled. 

[Pie Of The Month]

The Times this morning behind their paywall reporting UEFA might refund all tickets and start from scratch.  Not sure why they wouldn't just do a ballot amongst those who already have tickets unless they are planning to involve the home FAs to allocate tickets to fans who go regularly.

 

Quote

Only home fans are expected to be allowed into group matches for this summer’s delayed Euro 2020 tournament and very limited numbers of travelling supporters will be permitted for the latter stages of the competition, it can be revealed.

Uefa is considering the drastic move of refunding all the tickets already sold and starting the process again from scratch once the venues have confirmed how many fans they will be permitted by their national governments.

The move follows a meeting on Wednesday of tournament organisers from the 12 host countries, which include England, Scotland and Ireland, with many of the representatives pushing Uefa to take steps to prevent international travel by supporters because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The strong message from the representatives to Uefa was that it would be much easier to persuade governments to allow supporters into venues if only domestic fans were permitted. Sources in the meeting have told The Times that the Football Association’s plan for Wembley Stadium — which is hosting England’s three group games, a round-of-16 match, both semi-finals and the final — is for the venue to be 30 per cent to 35 per cent full, based on one-metre social distancing.

However, organisers have been told that even a slight relaxation in social distancing requirements could mean that Wembley is up to 50 per cent full — which would allow 45,000 supporters to attend — and that the extra fans could be accommodated with as little as three weeks’ notice.

FA chiefs are understood to have told Uefa they would ideally like to have some fans, perhaps 2,000 or 3,000, for the semi-finals and final, travelling from abroad by maintaining bubbles. They would be flown into London on charter flights, taken straight to the stadium and then back to the airport directly after the match, with minimal contact with the local population.

A decision on all the plans regarding supporters will have to be agreed by the governments and will depend on how the pandemic develops between now and the start of April, and on the impact of the vaccination programmes in the different countries.

More than 1.5 million of the three million tickets for the tournament had already been sold, though many will have been returned to Uefa before this week’s deadline. At almost all the venues, with the exception of Baku in Azerbaijan, where Wales are due to play two group games, the demand for tickets had outstripped supply.

With all the stadiums likely to have their capacities restricted, Uefa will either have to organise a ballot system to decide which tickets would remain valid or refund all tickets and start again — the latter option is viewed as a much simpler task. “Either way, people are going to be angry they have missed out,” said a source.



A few weeks ago there was an expectation that two or three of the 12 hosts would pull out of the tournament and that England and Scotland might be asked to stage extra games, but the likelihood of that has diminished considerably. Indeed, all the venues in this week’s meeting were said to be “bullish” in their determination to put the matches on.

Although there are considerable complications around moving the 24 competing teams, plus officials and Uefa staff, around 12 different countries that may all have different restrictions, the numbers involved are relatively small and can be maintained in bubbles.

That is a far cry from the Tokyo Olympics, for example, where nearly 20,000 athletes and officials would have to be accommodated in the city at some stage during the Games this summer.

There are also some benefits of the 12-country Euro 2020 format when it comes to supporters: nine of the host nations have qualified for the finals, which means that at least some fans of those teams should be able to see their countries play matches, without having to travel.

The choice of Wembley as the venue for the semi-final and final has also paid off for Uefa. For a start, the 17,000 Club Wembley seats provide the best opportunity for socially distanced hospitality and VIP seats in the whole of Europe, an important factor when it comes to revenue.

The stadium also has generously spaced concourses and seating, which again help to maximise the number of fans who can be permitted.

Furthermore, the cosmopolitan nature of London, with its many international communities, means that whichever teams reach the semi-finals and final it is likely that there will be a large number of potential fans already living in the capital.

The Scottish FA has also pointed out to Uefa that the country has a large Croatian community — Croatia are playing two group games at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, last night announced that Dr Daniel Koch, Switzerland’s former head of communicable diseases, who is seen as a key figure in the country’s swift response to the first wave of coronavirus infections last year, is to be the medical adviser for the Euros.

“Dr Koch has vast experience in the field of public health and communicable diseases,” Ceferin said. “His expertise will be invaluable in helping Uefa, host associations and host cities to navigate a path to maximising spectator attendance at Euro 2020 this summer.”

 

[Latino Lover]

Farce. Pretty much ruled it out now. Was never a huge fan of the format it was only really going to feel like a proper tournament from the ko stages. Holland and Italy’s group for example those home games are just going to feel like glorified qualifiers for them. 

[The Master]

According to Derek Rae on Twitter, the German Newspaper Bild is reporting that Israel has approached UEFA offering to host the later stages of the CL/EL but, more importantly for us, the entire Euros. The rationale being that Israel is well-advanced in its vaccine programme. 

I’m not sure UEFA will bite. At least not for the Euros. Not least because it looks like the UK government are already considering allowing fans at the EFL and FA Cup finals. If UEFA were to look at a single host, I’d imagine they’d go with one already due to stage games, so England (rightly or wrongly) might be in a position to be that country.

It’s possible that Scottish Government will allow fans by June, which could leave open a GB-based tournament (possibly including Wales, although the the Millennium Stadium will need to be stood-down as a COVID hospital first)

But I don’t think anyone would dare predict the SG’s thinking either way. 

[craigkillie]

It's strongly rumoured that the reason this cross-country tournament happened in the first place was because Turkey were the only people bidding for it and UEFA were a bit antsy about having it so close to an area of active conflict. Subsequently uprooting the whole thing to dump it slap bang in the centre of the Middle East doesn't seem likely.

[Gordopolis]

If presented with the opportunity to vote for an all-GB based euro 2020 finals with fans, I'd vote a firm 'No'.
The thought of fans of every other country coming here (taking our jobs, women etc*) and the potential for a variant to emerge and possibly undermine the vaccine progress just fills me with the fear. Any other year it'd be brilliant. Right now it'd be inviting fate.

*Kidding!