Uefa boss Ceferin admits Euro 2020 format was unfair on fans

He has pledged not to repeat this format

Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin has admitted the format of Euro 2020, with matches spread around the continent and some teams enjoying more home advantage than others, has been unfair. Čeferin pledged not to repeat the format, which diverted from the tradition of one or two nations hosting the entire competition, instead handing a select few countries a huge home advantage and forcing fans to travel extremely long distances between matches. The alteration has seen England play all but one of seven matches at Wembley, with their only trip out of London sending the team to Rome where they beat Ukraine 4-0 in the quarter-finals. [caption id="attachment_231006" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Jack Grealish and Declan Rice of England celebrate after defeating Germany at Wembley Stadium. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)[/caption] England's opponents in the final, Italy, have also enjoyed the bonus of playing their group matches in Rome at the Stadio Olympico, while Denmark and Spain also spent the entire group stage at home. As it turned out, those four countries all reached the semi-finals. Speaking to BBC Sport, Čeferin said: "I would not support it anymore."

"It is not fair to fans, who had to be in Rome one day and in Baku over the next few," he continued, "which is a four and a half hour flight. "We had to travel a lot, into countries with different jurisdictions, different currencies, countries in the European Union (EU) and Non-EU, so it was not easy. "It was a format that was decided before I came [into post] and I respect it. It is an interesting idea but it is hard to implement and I don't think we will do it again."

The next European Championships, which will take place in 2024, will be held in Germany, who last hosted a tournament in 2006.

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