UEFA refuses Munich Stadium rainbow illumination for Euro 2020
UEFA said the decision has been made because of "political" motives behind the request, UEFA has proposed new dates for the stadium to be lit up. It recommended instead that Munich authorities illuminate the stadium on Christopher Street Day on 28 June, or during Pride Week in Munich between 3 and 9 July. Reiter rejected the suggestion as a “ridiculous counterproposal”.
The mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, was reported on Tuesday afternoon to be planning instead to illuminate a wind turbine opposite the stadium in rainbow colours. Football stadiums elsewhere in Germany, including in Cologne and Frankfurt, pledged to “fill the void” and light up instead.
Munich’s city council said it had wanted to illuminate the stadium in order to “send a signal of support for inclusivity and diversity”. But Uefa said in a statement it had no choice than to reject the action on the grounds that it “contravened its regulations as a political and neutral organisation”. It said due to the “political context” of the application, “a message aiming at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament”, Uefa had to decline the request.
In a statement he said: “I find it shameful that Uefa forbids us from setting an example for diversity, tolerance, respect and solidarity.” He also criticised the German football federation, DFB, calling it “disappointing” that it had failed to stand up to Uefa and support Munich’s request. “The DFB, despite the overwhelming approval from all over the country, has not been willing to position itself to influence the result,” Reiter said.
In a show of solidarity Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt said it was planning to with the campaign by illuminating its ground, Deutsche Bank Park. In a post on Twitter, its spokesman, Axel Hellmann, said: “If Munich is not allowed to do so on Wednesday, then other stadiums in the country will have to show their colours. Deutsche Bank Park will be lit up in rainbow colours at the time of the Hungary match.”
FC Cologne said it would also join in. “We very much welcome this. Cologne and the FC stand for diversity and tolerance,” its chief executive, Alexander Wehrle, told the broadcaster WDR, calling the developments in Hungary “horrifying”.
Manuel Neuer, will once again be wearing a rainbow-coloured armband after a Uefa investigation ruled it did not contravene its policy on political neutrality. Neuer was attacked for wearing the band by Uwe Junge, a politician from the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, who described it as a “faggot’s armband”. Uefa ruled the armband was a “symbol of diversity and thus for a good cause” and would therefore not be forbidden.