With 100 days until kick off, reports today say Dublin is at risk of being stripped of its hosting duties at the delayed European Championships.
The government is reluctant to give assurances to UEFA about the amount of fans it could allow in by the time the tournament starts, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Glasgow and Bilbao are also set to take a similar stance and are set to lose their games alos, but nine other host cities, are more optimistic their prospects by June.
Although the UK has Europe’s worst Covid-19 death rate, its vaccination programme has lead Prime Minister Boris Johnson to claim that he would be happy for England to take more games at the delayed Euro 2020, if needed.
However yesterday, UEFA and The FA distanced itself from the possibility of England becoming the sole hosts of the event.
The Irish government told AP it is “too soon” to give any certainties to UEFA, while Spain is taking a “cautious” approach but says it is in constant dialogue about the situation.
AP has reported that if games are taken away from Glasgow and Dublin, they could be relocated to other stadiums on the British Isles, possibly Tottenham’s relatively new home, or venues in Manchester and Liverpool.
It is only at Level One of the government’s plan that the Aviva Stadium could host a capacity consistent with Uefa’s expectations for the tournament.
“The public health advice is that it is too early to say how and when these restrictions should be eased given current uncertainties”, an Irish government statement read.
“At the request of Uefa, Dublin’s hosting partners are examining possible scenarios for staging the games scheduled for Dublin in this Covid-19 environment. We are in constant dialogue with Uefa and our intention is to work to finalise our best possible scenario consistent with public health guidelines.”
