Euro 2012

**Weeto** · 06-08-2012, 05:58 AM

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship kicks off today in Poland.

The finals are being cohosted by Poland and Ukraine and feature 16 of European football's best national teams in the second biggest international team event in football behind the World Cup.

The current holders are Spain, while Germany, Netherlands, France and several others will have a say on the outcome of the championship.

My personal pick is the Netherlands, although I think Germany are really the team to be feared.

Outside the actual football, there have been frequent discussions of possible right wing violence in the Ukraine and several documentaries have been aired showing right arm waving, skinhead psychos attacking people and making racist and antisemetic rants. The black members of the Dutch team were targetted during a public training session a couple of days ago.

There have been players suggesting that they will leave the pitch if they are targetted for racial abuse, including Mario Balotelli of Italy (who is black) and the entire Netherlands team have suggested they will ask to be escorted from the pitch by the referee in serious instances.

Football hooliganism is a major problem in both host nations and adding the notorious fans of England, Netherlands, Germany and Russia to the cauldron is going to cause issues, especially as the number of foreign fans is lower than at other major championships in recent memory, apart from possibly the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. I think the outnumbered foreign fans are going to run into major problems with groups of locals and there will be many arrests and probably several deaths.

The actual stadiums look pretty good but the policing, corruption issues and the unstable politics in the Ukraine could lead to a powderkeg situation. Neither of these two countries seem up to standard for such a major undertaking.

My own country, Scotland has put a formal bid in to host Euro 2020 alongside the Republic of Ireland and Wales, with the opposing bids coming from Turkey and Georgia. Apparently UEFA encouraged the last minute bid to avoid Turkey being picked unopposed as that was the situation going into the last stages of bidding on the final day. Georgia made a very late bid with the S/I/W bid being submitted even later. Apparently many of the European football bosses don't want to go to Turkey and the S/I/W bid has a great chance. I wouldn't imagine that Georgia would have any hope, even against Turkey as it is a troubled country that had a recent war against Russia. It is also pretty small and off the beaten track of European tourism, unlike S/I/W or even Turkey. We have pretty good football policing here and the last major footballing riot here was the 1980 Scottish Cup final riot which led to the ban on drinking alcohol at football grounds.

**zemo** · 06-08-2012, 06:18 AM

I got no love for either Ukraine or Poland as hosts. There are serious problems in central, South, and West-Europe (can't really tell about the Scandinavians), but they pale in comparisson to what happens in Eastern Europe. That is despicable racist and homophobic shit right there, and then you give those countries the opportunity to present themselves as open and liberal. What a fake.

As for the tournament itself, I guess it's probably going to be Holland, too. Not Germany, as the group is probably going to be too hard and the players too cocky. I honestly think we have something like England's "golden generation" at our hands, where everybody loves how they play, but they won't get a-one trophy.

**Weeto** · 06-09-2012, 01:23 PM

So, after two days of play, this has happened...

Poland and Greece drew 1-1 and Russia crushed the Czech Republic 4-1 on Friday while Denmark beat Netherlands 1-0 in a huge shock and Germany beat Portgal 1-0 in the Saturday matches.

**zemo** · 06-09-2012, 01:43 PM

Germany match was dull. So was the Netherlands match, apart from the upset. Now next Wednesday is already the final for the Dutch :3

**Tyr** · 06-09-2012, 02:21 PM

.........

**sunbird** · 06-09-2012, 02:24 PM

Is England in? If they are I look forward to them getting their hopes up and then getting knocked out in penalties.
It's coming home, it's coming home, football's coming home! (So Glad I don't have to hear that twenty times a day)

**Weeto** · 06-09-2012, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by sunbird

Is England in? If they are I look forward to them getting their hopes up and then getting knocked out in penalties.
It's coming home, it's coming home, football's coming home! (So Glad I don't have to hear that twenty times a day)

Yeah. Their first game is against France on Monday.

**Morrison_Lad** · 06-09-2012, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by Weeto

So, after two days of play, this has happened...

Poland and Greece drew 1-1 and Russia crushed the Czech Republic 4-1 on Friday while Denmark beat Netherlands 1-0 in a huge shock and Germany beat Portgal 1-0 in the Saturday matches.

Interestingly, when I used to play FIFA on the PS2, for some totally unknown and bizarre reason, I used to like to be Denmark.

Why? No clue.