Micheál Martin: Taoiseach says Uefa 'out of order' over crowds stance after Dublin loses Euro 2020 games

Micheál Martin says Uefa is attempting to "force spectators in prematurely" into Euro 2020 matches

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin says Uefa was "out of order" over its crowds stance which led to Dublin losing the four Euro 2020 games it was supposed to host.

The games were moved to St Petersburg and Wembley on Friday as spectator attendance could not be guaranteed.

Taoiseach Martin said Uefa were trying to "force spectators in prematurely".

"Uefa were out of order, quite frankly, putting that condition on countries," Martin told Irish broadcaster RTE.

"If you look at what is happening all over Europe in terms of the B117 [Covid-19 variant], and in terms of the high incidence in European member state countries, to sort of put obligations on countries to force spectators in, prematurely in my view, is the wrong call by the footballing authorities."

Speaking on The Week in Politics television programme, Martin added that he "never thought it was a realistic proposition" the Irish Government was going to be in a position to give Uefa the spectator guarantees that it was seeking.

Uefa was demanding that stadia would have to be 25% full which would have meant just over 11,000 spectators attending Euro 2020 games at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.

Elite sport events are currently taking place behind closed doors in the Republic of Ireland with the government hoping to reopen sectors gradually over the coming weeks but with hotels unlikely to open again until at least June.

Aviva Stadium was due to host three Group E matches between Poland, Slovakia and Sweden at Dublin's Aviva Stadium from 14 June, followed by a last-16 tie which could potentially have involved England.