UEFA wants to remove Russian flags from the stadium when Ukraine plays its first game at the European Football Championship on Monday, after some were displayed in the stands during other matches, UNN reports, citing AP.
Details
UEFA says security officials will try to intercept and remove Russian flags from the stadium in Munich where Ukraine plays Romania on Monday afternoon in the group stage of Euro 2024.
Russian teams were suspended by UEFA from international competitions a few days after the full military invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.
Nevertheless, Russian citizens could try to buy tickets to Euro 2024. The national flag with white, red, and blue horizontal stripes was displayed at some of the first group stage matches, including in Munich last Friday alongside the flags of Scotland in the opening match against Germany, the newspaper said.
Several Russian flags were also seen among Serbian fans during their game against England in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday. Serbia is one of Russia's strongest traditional allies in Europe, the newspaper notes.
Many of the images of Jude Bellingham celebrating scoring the only goal of the game for England clearly showed Russian flags behind him in the Serbian part of the stadium.
Addendum
Earlier, the German authorities said they wanted to allow only the flags of the participating teams to be carried into stadiums and official fan zones that broadcast the games on big screens in the 10 host cities. This was also seen as a protective measure to avoid possible provocations in the event of a demonstration of the flags of Israel and Palestine.
UEFA also has disciplinary rules regarding political messages in stadiums, and it can punish teams if they are displayed by their fans.