Germany vs Hungary: UEFA throws out rainbow illumination request
UEFA has turned down a request from the mayor of Munich for the city’s stadium to be lit up in rainbow colours for the Euro 2020 Group F match between Germany and Hungary.
European football’s governing body said it received the request from the mayor of the German city, Dieter Reiter, on Monday.
Reiter had said he wanted to light up the stadium in the colours in protest against a new law in Hungary that bans the dissemination of content in schools deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change.
On that basis, UEFA said it could not grant the request and proposed alternative dates for the stadium to be lit up in rainbow colours.
A statement from European football’s governing body read: “UEFA has yesterday received a request from the mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, on behalf of the city council, to have the arena in Munich illuminated in rainbow colours at the upcoming UEFA EURO 2020 group stage match between Germany and Hungary.
“In this letter, the mayor outlines the reasoning behind this request to be a political decision which has been taken by the Hungarian parliament.
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“UEFA understands that the intention is also to send a message to promote diversity and inclusion – a cause, which UEFA has been supporting for many years having joined forces with European clubs, national teams and their players, launching campaigns and plenty of activities all over Europe to promote the ethos that football should be open to everyone and consequently UEFA has proposed alternative dates for the illumination which align better with existing events.
“UEFA is determined to play its part in positive change and believes that discrimination can only be fought in close collaboration with others.