The football association initially spoke of a “very drunk” fan and again had to take a lot of criticism.
This time it wasn't a stadium, but a small rainbow-colored flag that attracted a lot of attention at the European Championship. The souvenir from Danish fans as a symbol of tolerance and diversity was cashed in by grim-looking stewards shortly before the quarter-finals kick off in Baku – and sparked another debate on the role of the European Football Union (UEFA), which began on Saturday evening with a comment on the incident irritated.
In a statement, the umbrella organization announced that it would investigate the actions of the security forces. The rainbow flag has been returned to the fan – and a symbol that embodies the core values of UEFA. First, however, UEFA received information about a “very drunk” fan who had trouble with other supporters in the stadium. The police “intervened and let the fans stay in spite of their condition.”
Denmark counter UEFA
The Danish association clearly contradicted this. There were employees in the vicinity of the incident, tweeted Ronnie Hansen, commercial director of the association, on Sunday night. The UEFA investigation is supported. The umbrella association's view of the fan’s condition is not shared at all.
Omkring regnbueflag i Baku:
Vi have medarbejdere tæt på forløbet and vi vil bidrage til UEFA's undersøgelse af say.
UEFA has umiddelbart vurderet, at den omtalte fan var meget beruset. The opfattelse deler vi slet ikke.
Nu afventer vi først UEFA.
– Ronnie Hansen (@RonnieHansen) July 3, 2021
The scene in the Olympic Stadium in the Islamic capital of Azerbaijan is documented in photos. You can see two stewards having a heated discussion with the Danish fans. A folder tugged at the flag, which disappeared shortly afterwards. The exact background why the stewards intervened is still unclear.
Fan was “shocked”
UEFA, which has been subject to massive criticism for weeks in Germany because of the corona and rainbow issues, informed the German Press Agency that it had not instructed the stewards in Baku or other EM stadiums to assign rainbow flags confiscate. “Of course we will be in touch with the UEFA delegate, the UEFA security officer and the local authorities to sort this out,” it said.
Security guards appeared to confiscate the rainbow flag from the #DEN fans, which did not go down well with nearby supporters. # Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/BDn3UnjhaN
– Standard Sport (@standardsport) July 3, 2021
In Danish media, the fan who brought the flag into the stadium said that stewards had snatched it from his hand. He was shocked about it. After the game, he received the flag from the association's fan coordinator.
Rainbow as a huge EM topic
The Danish national coach Kasper Hjulmand said on the evening after his team's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic that he did not yet know exactly what had happened. “I've heard about it, but I haven't got any details yet,” said the 49-year-old during the press conference. “I would like to see what the details are.”
The symbolic rainbow colors for tolerance and sexual and gender diversity were already a huge EM topic in the group stage because UEFA had prohibited the Munich arena from shining brightly for the German game against Hungary. This was preceded by a motion from the city of Munich, which was also aimed at protesting a law passed in Hungary that restricts young people's rights to information with regard to homosexuality and transsexuality.
