Game on! Government green-lights Euro spectators

Culture Ministry has guaranteed that at least 12,000 fans will be able to attend the four games being played in Copenhagen

Just days after the European footballing body UEFA demanded that fans were a must at games this summer, the government has acted.

The Culture Ministry has guaranteed that at least 12,000 fans will be able to attend each of the four games being played in Copenhagen.

“The Euros is a unique and historic event in Denmark. The government has therefore decided to allow at least 11,000-12,000 fans to attend the four games being played at Parken,” said the culture minister, Joy Mogensen.

“We will also look into whether even more fans can get into Parken Stadium if it is deemed appropriate from a health perspective.”

Meanwhile, the Superliga has been waiting for months for the government to make a decision on when fans will be permitted to attend their games.

An expert panel set up by the Culture Ministry to look into the possibility won’t reveal its findings until mid April. 

And that’s despite the State Serum Institute calculating that the risk of infection spread at the outdoor matches was low.

READ ALSO: The road to the 2022 World Cup starts now

Double up for Denmark 
In related news, Denmark got off to a good start in its 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign last night by beating Israel 2-0 in Tel Aviv. 

Martin Braithwaite and Jonas Wind got the goals. 

The Danes next take on Moldova at home on Sunday and Austria away on Wednesday next week.

Under-21s win first group game
The Danish under-21 side also enjoyed success last night by beating France 1-0 in their Euro 2021 opener – a tournament whose format has been radically altered due to corona restrictions.  

The French dominated possession for vast swathes of the match, but Anders Dreyer stunned the favourites with a goal 15 minutes before time.

The Danes next face Iceland on Sunday in the group, followed by Russia on Wednesday next week, in a bid to make the eight-team knockout phase, which will be played from May 31 to June 6.