Yahoo Finance Uefa could block Allianz Arena rainbow lighting at Euros, say German FA
Uefa may block the illumination of the Allianz Arena with rainbow lighting, a planned show support for the LGBTQ+ community, according to the German FA.
Germany host Hungary in a Euro 2020 match on Wednesday amid reports of anti-LGBT+ banners being displayed in Budapest earlier in the tournament, while the country last week passed a law banning the dissemination of content in schools deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change.
German publication Bild on Tuesday report that Munich mayor Dieter Reiter, with the backing of Bavaria premier Markus Soder, called on European football's governing body to allow "a widely visible signal for our common understanding of values" and to "work emphatically and visibly for tolerance and equality".
However, Uefa could reject the idea, with German FA spokesman Jens Grittner telling Bild: "Uefa specifies a uniform stadium design and there are good reasons to [keep] this uniform stadium design. Maybe you don't necessarily have to fix the lights on Wednesday matchday."
Hungary's foreign minister has hit out at calls for the rainbow lightning, saying politics should be kept out of sport.
"I consider it very harmful and dangerous when anyone tries to mix politics and sports. There have been some attempts to do this in world history and those ended very badly," Peter Szijjarto told reporters in Luxembourg on the margins of the European Union's Foreign Ministers meeting.
"Everyone knows what this is about, we in Hungary passed a law in order to protect Hungarian children and there is protest against this in Western Europe and they also try to express it by trying to bring politics into a sport event when that sport event has nothing to do with the national legislature.
He added: "I think this does a lot of harm, experience from history shows that this is wrong, and I think the Germans know this, if anyone, they certainly know this very well. So, mixing sports and politics is wrong.”
There will be rainbow flags flown throughout the city of Munich on the day, but the stadium may now be lit up on Christopher Street Day on June 28, a non-matchday, which is a continent-wide day of celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.
"[Munich] is committed to diversity, tolerance and real equality in sport and throughout society," a cross-party proposal put forward by the city council read.
"On the occasion of the European Football Championship match between Germany and Hungary, the state capital of Munich wants to give an important and visible sign of solidarity towards the LGBTI Community in Hungary, those who suffer under the current tightened homophobic and transphobic Hungarian government legislation.
"The state capital of Munich, as the venue for Euro 2020, has already agreed to fly rainbow flags on the town hall to make a clear statement on the day of the game."
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