What has UEFA said?
“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.
“However UEFA, through its statutes, is a politically and religiously neutral organisation. Given the political context of this specific request — a message aiming at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament — UEFA must decline this request.
“UEFA has nevertheless proposed to the city of Munich to illuminate the stadium with the rainbow colours on either 28 June — the Christopher Street Liberation Day — or between 3 and 9 July which is the Christopher Street Day week in Munich.”
Christopher Street Day is an annual European LGBTQ+ celebration and demonstration held in various cities across Europe for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and against discrimination and exclusion.
What have Hungary said?
Hungary Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said: “Thank God that in the circles of European football leadership common sense prevails and they did not play along with the political provocation. UEFA made the right decision.”
Have there been any LGBTQ+ incidents at Euro 2020?
Yes — UEFA is currently investigating “potential discriminatory incidents” at Hungary’s games between Portugal and France, both played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
During their opening game against Portugal, photographs emerged on social media that demonstrated Hungarian fans raising banners voicing their opposition against LGBTQ+ people inside the Puskas Arena.
A further demonstration by fans ahead of the game against France saw them protest against the taking of a knee before kick-off.
UEFA also opened an investigation into the rainbow captain’s armband worn by Germany’s Manuel Neuer in support of the LGBTQ+ community. However, they quickly closed proceedings saying Neuer “was promoting a good cause”.
Is LGBTQ+ support an issue at Euro 2020?
Yes. This has become a huge topic of conversation around the events in Hungary.
Last week, the national parliament passed legislation by 157-1 that has been commonly interpreted as a law against what the government of right wing leader Victor Orban describes as “LGBT propaganda”. The law bans the promotion or portrayal of homosexuality or gender reassignment.
(Photo: Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)
