The Spanish city of Bilbao has been dropped as a venue for this year’s European Championship after it was unable to guarantee organisers it could host fans in the stadium for matches, but local officials say they will now seek compensation.
Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that the city would miss out on the June 11-July 11 tournament, having been due to host Spain’s Group E games against Poland, Sweden and Slovakia.
UEFA are scheduled to make a final decision on the hosting rights of Bilbao, Munich and Dublin, three of 12 proposed venues for the tournament, on Friday as they seek assurances that the trio will allow fans into their stadiums for the games.
But Bilbao authorities say they have already received a letter from UEFA informing them of the decision to move the matches elsewhere.
The strict health protocols in the Basque region that have been set out as a pre-requisite by the local government to allow supporters in the stands have been described by the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) as unrealistic.
Photo: Flickr
via Reuters
