The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban will no longer visit Munich in Germany to watch the Euro 2020 Group F final match between Germany and Hungary due to the homophobic interest the game has generated.
The fixture is scheduled to kick off at 20:00 later today, June 23, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. Recall that days before the match, the Mayor of the city, Dieter Reiter asked UEFA to permit the authority of the city to light up the stadium in rainbow colors during the game.
However, the European football governing body declined the request saying that it would be political to do so since it coincided with a period Hungarian government banned people from the ages of 18 and below from consuming homosexual-related content.
Even though UEFA gave the city different dates to light up the stadium, the mayor of the city and LGBT+ groups criticized the football governing body for not doing enough to eliminate discrimination from the game.
Mayor Dieter Reiter said he was disappointed over the UEFA decision and declared more commitment to ensure that the rights of the LGBT+ are promoted and protected.
While LGBT+ groups believe that UEFA is not committed enough in the fight against discrimination which the LGBT community are being subjected to in most parts of the world.
In reaction to the criticism, UEFA had to change the colors on its logo to rainbow colors and used it on all its social media platforms. The football body said the rainbow colors are not a political symbol but a sign of inclusiveness.
— UEFA (@UEFA) June 23, 2021
Due to all these, it was reported that the Hungarian PM has decided to cancel his planned trip to Munich to watch the Germany vs Hungary match from the stands of the Allianz Arena.
Instead, he would fly to Brussels to attend an EU leaders’ summit which will commence tomorrow, June 24, 2021.
The chance of Hungary in the group of death
Asides from the political tension involved in the European Championship, Hungary are being faced with the tension of surviving Group F, which is tagged the group of death.
Later today, at 20:00, they will face a rejuvenated German side that defeated Portugal 4-2 last weekend.
As tough as the group is, everyone in the group still stands a chance of not making it out of the group. For instance, Portugal (3rd placed with three points) will play France (1st place with four points). If Portugal win the game, France could drop to second or third pending the outcome of the game between Hungary (4th placed with a point) and Germany (second placed with three points).
On the other hand, if Hungary beat Germany with about 5 goals tonight, they could stand a chance of clinching at least the second spot. But that is believed to be almost impossible based on the current form of Germany.
Hence, the battle for the first and second spots of the group is between France, Germany, and Portugal which means that the journey of Hungary in the tournament might end tonight.
