As France enter the European Championship on Tuesday, June 15, the 26 selected footballers have not received any vaccination obligations from UEFA, the organizer of the competition.
Question asked by Harry on June 9
Hello,
You are asking us to know if the players of the French football team selected for the 2020 European Championship have been required to be vaccinated to participate in the competition.
Postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Championship (June 11 – July 11) will begin this Friday in Rome on the occasion of the match between Turkey and Italy. If the competition takes place, the health context remains heavy. The footballers and the staff of the 24 selections present therefore face several possibilities: to be vaccinated or not for the Euro. UEFA, the European confederation organizing the Euro, contacted by us, assured that“No vaccination of the players was required for participation in Euro 2020. Each federation could choose for its own team”.
At first, however, another option was on the table, admits UEFA, in order to limit as effectively as possible the risk of positive cases. “Offering vaccination to all teams was a considered idea, but after careful analysis, UEFA came to the conclusion that this was not going to be possible from an organizational point of view, but also ethically since the vaccination of groups at risk remains a priority, explains the European confederation before continuing. The progress and availability of vaccines for the entire population in all respective countries would not have been achieved by the time Euro 2020 begins ”, further explains the organization.
Player autonomy
Thus, this decision not to impose vaccination to participate in the Euro allows the 24 qualified federations to decide their own fate. Regarding the France team, Didier Deschamps, the coach of the Blues, questioned on this subject at a press conference, said he had left perfect autonomy to his players.
“There was no organized vaccination for the players, he indicated. Vaccination remains a personal decision, some are, on their own or with their clubs, assures the coach of the Blues. We made sure to vaccinate the entire staff, who are a little older than the players. During the preparation, why not [que les joueurs se fassent vacciner, ndlr], but during the competition there will be none because you have to be careful of side effects. “
So, if this is not already the case, the last Blues wishing to be vaccinated will have to do it before next Tuesday, the date on which the France team enters into contention for the Euro against Germany. For example, Kylian Mbappé recently posted a photo of himself on Instagram after receiving his dose of the vaccine.
The Parisian striker and the other players will still have to respect a strict health protocol, whether they are vaccinated or not. As provided for in Article 7.9 of the UEFA resumption of play protocol published in January, “A total or partial vaccination does not exempt anyone from following the screening program for the SARS-CoV-2 genome provided for in this section of the protocol”.
This corresponds to a PCR test before leaving a country and a new one before each meeting. UEFA indicates, to ensure the health safety of all teams, the implementation of several procedures: “The teams will live in a bubble, without contact with the public. Players will have to undergo regular PCR tests and temperature checks upon arrival at the stadium. ”
Quarantine
If a footballer is nonetheless positive during the competition, what happens? “The procedure in place provides for the player in question to be quarantined and for the other players to be tested again before being allowed to play. This principle applies to the eleven organizing countries, and the same procedure applies to referees and officials ”, explains Martin Kallen, president of UEFA Events SA on the confederation website.
What about the other selections present at Euro 2020? After the contamination of his midfielder, Sergio Busquets, Spain has moved up a gear. After several refusals, the Ministry of Health finally accepted the request of the Spanish Football Federation by authorizing vaccination for the technical staff and the players. In Belgium, the situation is a little more vague. As the daily reported The last news, some footballers did not want to be vaccinated for personal reasons or because they had already been exposed to the virus. Finally, on the Italian side, the 26 players called up by coach Roberto Mancini received the second dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in May, their vaccination having been authorized “In priority” by the government.
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