Euro 2020 games moved from Dublin and Bilbao

Dublin’s Euro 2020 games have been moved to Russia and London as the FAI and the Irish government were unable to guarantee spectator attendance.

The three Group E matches featuring Slovakia, Sweden and Poland have been moved from Aviva Stadium to Saint Petersburg.

UEFA have confirmed that the last-16 game scheduled for Dublin has been switched to Wembley Stadium in London.

UEFA’s executive committee is meeting today to finalise plans after Bilbao and Dublin could not guarantee fan presence at matches, with Seville replacing Bilbao as a host city.

Nine of the 12 host cities had already confirmed their venues will be at least 25% full for June’s delayed European Championships, the minimum capacity UEFA will accept.

Munich was the third host city that had been unable to offer UEFA the fan guarantees it needed but a new plan to allow at least 14,500 into the 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena has been approved despite rising infection numbers in the country. Germany are scheduled to play all three of their group games in Munich.

The San Mames in Bilbao has been replaced by the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville.

FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill ackowledged how disappointing the news would be for football fans int he country.

“This is of course really disappointing news for Irish sport and for everyone who wanted to showcase Ireland to the world this summer.

“Since 2014 and the bid win, the excitement around EURO 2020 has been growing and I know how much everyone was looking forward to hosting four outstanding fixtures at the Aviva Stadium in June.”

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “We have been working diligently with the host associations and local authorities to ensure a safe and festive environment at the games and I am really pleased that we are able to welcome spectators at all matches for a celebration of national team football across the continent.”

Seville has replaced Bilbao as a host city, with the 60,000-capacity La Cartuja stadium, which has this year hosted two Copa del Rey finals plus the Spanish Super Cup final, expected to host all three of Spain’s Group E games plus a last-16 match.

UEFA has sold more than 2.5 million tickets for the tournament, though has kept the window for refunds open. All tickets for matches in Bilbao and Dublin will be cancelled. All impacted ticket buyers will receive a full refund for the face value of their cancelled tickets.

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