EURO 2020 host Romania gets uncanny off-pitch action

Romania has hosted the first two out of the four matches scheduled to take place in Bucharest during the EURO 2020 tournament, writes Cristian Gherasim, Bucharest correspondent.

Despite its national team being unable to qualify for EURO 2020, the first match hosted in Romania’s capital city saw some off-pitch scandals.

First, there was the diplomatic row which began with North Macedonia’s jersey worn during the match against Austria.

Macedonia had recently changed its name to Northern Macedonia, after many years in which the country was in conflict with Greece over name issues.

Now, Athens officials are complaining that the equipment used by Northern Macedonia at EURO 2020 does not have the current full name of the country embroidered on it.

Greek Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis sent a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin requesting that the full name of Northern Macedonia be present on the EURO 2020 jerseys.

Also the Greek foreign minister stepped in requesting his north Macedonian counterpart that North Macedonia’s football team respect the agreement by which the name of this former Yugoslav republic was changed. In the letter, Greek Minister Dendias stressed that the Northern Macedonia team cannot play in the European Championship under the acronym MKD, and another should be used to reflect the official name, such as NM (Northern Macedonia).

The issue of country symbols during the EURO 2020 came into debate before even the tournament started. Prior to the Macedonian name scandal, Russia and Ukraine locked horns, Russia being unhappy with the symbols and inscriptions on the shirts of Ukrainian players which show the country’s borders to include Crimea and the slogan "Glory to Ukraine!" Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, and considers it a part of its territory, something rejected internationally.

But the off pitch action during the first match hosted by Bucharest didn’t stop with North Macedonia’s diplomatic row.

Local media reported that while Romania’s top former footballers were left seated in the stands, local politicians, such as head of Romania’s Chamber of Deputies, the president of the Romanian Senate and the mayor of Bucharest were placed up top, in the VIP boxes. Many Romanians regarded this as an insult to those sportsmen who decades ago helped the national football team gain decent results during final football tournaments.

Romania hasn’t qualified for any major football tournament in over two decades, with the exception of EURO 2008.

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