UEFA Euro 2012

Mistrzostwa Europy w piłce nożnej 2012 (Polish) Чемпіонат Європи по футболу 2012 (Ukrainian)
200px UEFA Euro 2012 official logo
Tournament details
Host countries	Poland  Ukraine
Dates	8 June – 1 July
Teams	16
Venue(s)	8 (in 8 host cities)
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Countdown to opening of championships (Lviv, Ukraine)

Goats – symbol of Poznan occasionally dressed in Euro2012 flags

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, will be the 14th European Championship for national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament will be hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012. It is the first time that either nation has hosted the tournament. This bid was chosen by UEFA's Executive Committee in 2007.^[1]

The final tournament features 16 nations, the last European Championship to do so (from Euro 2016 onward, there will be 24 finalists). Qualification was contested by 51 nations between August 2010 and November 2011 to join the two host nations in the tournament. The winner of the tournament gains automatic entry to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Brazil.^[2]

Host selection[link]

The joint Poland–Ukraine bid was chosen by a vote of the UEFA Executive Committee at a meeting in Cardiff on 18 April 2007, defeating both Italy and a Croatia–Hungary bid.^[1] Poland–Ukraine became the third successful joint bid for the European Championship, after those of Belgium–Netherlands (2000) and Austria–Switzerland (2008). Italy had been considered favourites to win the hosting but incidents of fan violence and a match fixing scandal were widely cited as factors behind their failure.^[3][4][5]

Venues[link]

Eight cities have been selected by UEFA as host venues. In a return to the format used at Euro 1992, Euro 1996 and Euro 2008, each of the four groups will be based around two stadiums each.

The host cities Warsaw, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań, Kiev, Lviv are all popular tourist destinations, unlike Donetsk and Kharkiv (the latter having replaced Dnipropetrovsk as a host city in 2009).^[6]

The obligatory improvement of the football infrastructure includes the building of new stadiums: six of the eight venues are brand new stadiums currently being constructed ready to open in advance of the tournament; the remaining two (in Poznań and Kharkiv) have undergone major renovations to improve them.^[7][8] Three of the stadiums will fulfill the criteria of UEFA's highest category stadiums.

Stadiums[link]

Warsaw	Gdańsk	Wrocław	Poznań
National Stadium Capacity: 58,500[9]	PGE Arena Capacity: 43,600[10]	Municipal Stadium Capacity: 42,800[11]	Municipal Stadium Capacity: 43,300[12]
3 matches in Group A Opening match, Quarter-final, Semi-final	3 matches in Group C Quarter-final	3 matches in Group A	3 matches in Group C
Wrocław Kiev Lviv Donetsk Warsaw Gdańsk Kharkiv Poznań
Kiev	Donetsk	Kharkiv	Lviv
Olympic Stadium Capacity: 60,000[13]	Donbass Arena Capacity: 50,000[14]	Metalist Stadium Capacity: 35,000[15]	Arena Lviv Capacity: 30,000[16]
3 matches in Group D Quarter-final, Final	3 matches in Group D Quarter-final, Semi-final	3 matches in Group B	3 matches in Group B
			185px

Note: Capacity figures are those for matches at UEFA Euro 2012 and are not necessarily the total capacity that the stadium is capable of holding.

Team bases[link]

The host cities in Poland and Ukraine (with team bases marked by orange)

In addition to the eight host cities, Euro 2012 will also include other places – referred to as Team Base Camps – that act as the accommodation and training bases for the teams. After an initial list of 38 potential base camps (21 in Poland, 17 in Ukraine) was distributed by UEFA in September 2010,^[17] the national associations then chose their locations during 2011; 13 will stay in Poland and 3 in Ukraine in the following towns:^[18]

•  Croatia – Warka
•  Czech Republic – Wrocław
•  Denmark – Kołobrzeg
•  England – Kraków
•  France – Donetsk
•  Germany – Gdańsk
•  Greece – Jachranka
•  Italy – Kraków
•  Netherlands – Kraków
•  Poland – Warsaw
•  Portugal – Opalenica
•  Republic of Ireland – Sopot
•  Russia – Warsaw
•  Spain – Gniewino
•  Sweden – Koncha-Zaspa
•  Ukraine – Kiev

These bases will be the initial destination for all teams upon arrival in the Poland/Ukraine. The teams will then both train and reside in these locations throughout the tournament, traveling to games staged away from their bases.

Qualification[link]

Qualification: Germany v Austria (2–1)

The draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying competition took place in Warsaw on 7 February 2010.^[19] 51 teams entered to compete for the 14 remaining places in the finals, alongside co-hosts Poland and Ukraine. These teams were divided into nine groups, with the draw using the new UEFA national team coefficient for the first time in order to determine the seedings.

The qualifying process began in August 2010 and concluded in November 2011. At the conclusion of the qualifying group stage in October 2011, the nine group winners qualified automatically, with the second placed team with the best ranking also doing so. The remaining eight teams who finished second in their respective groups contested two-legged play-offs, with the winner of each tie qualifying for the finals.

Participating teams[link]

The finals will feature sixteen national teams, as has been the format since 1996. Some European football associations were in favour of expanding the tournament to 24 teams, although the number of UEFA members had hardly increased since the last tournament extension in 1996 (53 in April 2006 compared to 48 for Euro 1996).^[20] In April 2007, UEFA's Executive Committee formally decided against an expansion for 2012.^[21]

  Euro 2012 hosts – Poland & Ukraine

  The defending champions

  Qualified

  Failed to qualify

  Country is not a UEFA member

Twelve of the sixteen finalists participated at the previous tournament in 2008, with England and Denmark returning having last participated in 2004. The Republic of Ireland return after an absence of 24 years to make their second appearance at a European finals. One of the co-hosts, Ukraine, make their debut as an independent nation, having previously won the inaugural competition in 1960 as part of the Soviet Union.

Euro 2008 winners Spain have qualified to defend their title. They will compete to win an unprecedented third consecutive major tournament, having won both UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The sixteen finalists who will participate in the final tournament are:

Final draw[link]

The draw for the final tournament took place on 2 December 2011 at the Ukraine Palace of Arts in Kiev, Ukraine.^[22][23] The hour-long ceremony was hosted by Olga Freimut and Piotr Sobczyński, television presenters from the two host countries.

As was the case for the 2004 and 2008 finals, the sixteen finalists were divided into four seeding pots, using the UEFA national team coefficient ranking.^[24] As co-hosts, Poland and Ukraine were automatically placed in Pot 1, along with Spain, as the defending champions.^[25]

In the draw procedure, each of the four groups had one team drawn from each pot. It also determined which place in the group teams drawn from Pots 2–4 would take (i.e. A2, A3 or A4) to create the match schedule.^[25] For logistical reasons, Poland were assigned in advance to A1, and Ukraine to D1.^[26] The balls were drawn by four former players who have each been part of European Championship winning teams: Horst Hrubesch, Marco van Basten, Peter Schmeichel and Zinedine Zidane.

Match officials[link]

UEFA named the twelve referees and four fourth officials for UEFA Euro 2012 on 20 December 2011.^[27][28] Each team is made up of five match officials from the same country: one main referee, two additional assistant referees who are also FIFA referees, and two FIFA assistant referees. In addition, a third assistant referee from each country has also been named, and he will remain on standby until the start of the tournament to take the place of a colleague if required.^[29] Continuing the trials carried out in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, the two additional assistant referees will be used on the goal line for the first time in the history of the UEFA European Championship with approval from the International Football Association Board.^[27]

Country	Referee	Assistant referees	Additional assistant referees
England	Howard Webb	Michael Mullarkey Peter Kirkup Stephen Child (standby)	Martin Atkinson Mark Clattenburg
France	Stéphane Lannoy	Eric Dansault Frédéric Cano Michael Annonier (standby)	Fredy Fautrel Ruddy Buquet
Germany	Wolfgang Stark	Jan-Hendrik Salver Mike Pickel Mark Borsch (standby)	Florian Meyer Deniz Aytekin
Hungary	Viktor Kassai	Gábor Erős György Ring Róbert Kispál (standby)	István Vad Tamás Bognár
Italy	Nicola Rizzoli	Renato Faverani Andrea Stefani Luca Maggiani (standby)	Gianluca Rocchi Paolo Tagliavento
Netherlands	Björn Kuipers	Sander van Roekel Erwin Zeinstra Norbertus Simons (standby)	Pol van Boekel Richard Liesveld
Portugal	Pedro Proença	Bertino Miranda Ricardo Santos Tiago Trigo (standby)	Jorge Sousa Duarte Gomes
Scotland	Craig Thomson	Alasdair Ross Derek Rose Graham Chambers (standby)	William Collum Euan Norris
Slovenia	Damir Skomina	Primoz Arhar Marko Stancin Matej Žunič (standby)	Matej Jug Slavko Vinčič
Spain	Carlos Velasco Carballo	Roberto Alonso Fernández Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez Jesús Calvo Guadamuro (standby)	David Fernández Borbalán Carlos Clos Gómez
Sweden	Jonas Eriksson	Stefan Wittberg Mathias Klasenius Fredrik Nilsson (standby)	Markus Strömbergsson Stefan Johannesson
Turkey	Cüneyt Çakır	Bahattin Duran Tarık Ongun Mustafa Emre Eyisoy (standby)	Hüseyin Göçek Bülent Yıldırım

Four match officials which will only serve as fourth officials and four reserve assistant referees were also named.

Country	Fourth official
Czech Republic	Pavel Královec
Norway	Tom Harald Hagen
Poland	Marcin Borski
Ukraine	Viktor Shvetsov

Country	Reserve assistant referee[28]
Republic of Ireland	Damien MacGraith
Poland	Marcin Borkowski
Slovakia	Roman Slysko
Ukraine	Oleksandr Voytyuk

Squads[link]

Each nation has to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom have to be goalkeepers, by 28 May 2012.

Group stage[link]

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) in Poland and Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3) in Ukraine.

Tie-breaking criteria

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:^[30]

1. Higher number of points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
2. Superior goal difference resulting from the matches played between the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal on points);
3. Higher number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal on points);
4. If, after having applied criteria 1) to 3), two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1) to 3) are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine the final rankings of the two teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5) to 9) apply in the order given;^[31]
5. superior goal difference in all group matches;
6. higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
7. position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system
8. fair play conduct of the teams (final tournament);
9. drawing of lots

Group A[link]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Poland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Greece	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Russia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

8 June 2012
Poland	Match 1	Greece
Russia	Match 2	Czech Republic
12 June 2012
Greece	Match 9	Czech Republic
Poland	Match 10	Russia
16 June 2012
Czech Republic	Match 17	Poland
Greece	Match 18	Russia

Group B[link]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

9 June 2012
Netherlands	Match 3	Denmark
Germany	Match 4	Portugal
13 June 2012
Denmark	Match 11	Portugal
Netherlands	Match 12	Germany
17 June 2012
Portugal	Match 19	Netherlands
Denmark	Match 20	Germany

Group C[link]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Republic of Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Croatia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

10 June 2012
Spain	Match 5	Italy
Republic of Ireland	Match 6	Croatia
14 June 2012
Italy	Match 13	Croatia
Spain	Match 14	Republic of Ireland
18 June 2012
Croatia	Match 21	Spain
Italy	Match 22	Republic of Ireland

Group D[link]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Ukraine	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sweden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
France	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
England	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

11 June 2012
France	Match 7	England
Ukraine	Match 8	Sweden
15 June 2012
Ukraine	Match 15	France
Sweden	Match 16	England
19 June 2012
England	Match 23	Ukraine
Sweden	Match 24	France

Knockout phase[link]

Quarter-finals[link]

21 June 2012 20:45 UTC+2	Winner Group A	Match 25	Runner-up Group B	National Stadium, Warsaw

22 June 2012 20:45 UTC+2	Winner Group B	Match 26	Runner-up Group A	PGE Arena, Gdańsk

23 June 2012 21:45 UTC+3	Winner Group C	Match 27	Runner-up Group D	Donbass Arena, Donetsk

24 June 2012 21:45 UTC+3	Winner Group D	Match 28	Runner-up Group C	Olympic Stadium, Kiev

Semi-finals[link]

27 June 2012 21:45 UTC+3	Winner Match 25	Match 29	Winner Match 27	Donbass Arena, Donetsk

28 June 2012 20:45 UTC+2	Winner Match 26	Match 30	Winner Match 28	National Stadium, Warsaw

Final[link]

1 July 2012 21:45 UTC+3	Winner Match 29	Match 31	Winner Match 30	Olympic Stadium, Kiev

Broadcasting[link]

TVP will be broadcasting all matches from Poland,^[32] while the NTU and TRK will be broadcasting matches in Ukraine.^[33]

In January 2012, it was announced that TP (Polish Telecom) and Orange had successfully completed the first phase of tests of the technology infrastructure and services to be provided during the competition to bring connectivity to over twenty locations in Poland (host cities, stadiums, hotels for UEFA representatives) and between Poland and Ukraine.^[34]

According to UEFA requirements, TP will ensure approximately 2х70 Gbit/sec data communication speed from Polish stadiums and 2х140 Gbit/sec between Poland and Ukraine. This is required due to the fact that the matches are planned to be broadcast in HD quality.^[35] The multilateral production will utilise 31 cameras to cover the action on and around the pitch at every match, with additional cameras following activities around the game, such as team arrivals at the stadiums, interviews, and media conferences.^[36]

The official Euro 2012 broadcasting centre will be located at the Expo XXI International Centre in Warsaw.^[35]

Miscellaneous[link]

Logo and slogan[link]

Logo of Euro 2012 made of flowers

Four official logos for the tournament

Four official logos for the tournament

The competition slogan, Creating History Together (Polish: Razem tworzymy przyszłość, Ukrainian: Творимо історію разом / Tvorymo istoriyu razom), was announced along with the logo. The slogan reflects the fact that Poland and Ukraine were united in the past as one country and now represent ambitions of two eastern nations to perform the best tournament in the history of European Championship.^[37]

The official logo for the tournament was unveiled at a special event at Mykhailivska Square, Kiev, on 14 December 2009. It takes its visual identity from Wycinanki or Vytynanky, traditional form of paper cutting practised in rural areas of Poland and Ukraine. The art form symbolises the nature of the rural areas of both countries.^[37][38] As part of the event, landmark buildings in the eight host cities were illuminated with the tournament logo.^[39]

Match ball[link]

Adidas Tango 12

The official match ball for UEFA Euro 2012 is the Adidas Tango 12, which is designed to be easier to dribble and control than the reportedly unpredictable Adidas Jabulani used at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[40]

Mascots[link]

Polish and Ukrainian twins
Slavek & Slavko

Slavek and Slavko are the official mascots of the UEFA Euro 2012. They are twins and represent Polish and Ukrainian footballers in national colours. The mascots were announced in December 2010.^[41] Similarly as in 2008 names Slavek and Slavko were chosen in the web voting, over "Siemko and Strimko" and "Klemek and Ladko". It should be noted, however, that the name of the "Polish" mascot, Slavek, is not Polish. The letter "v" does not exist in the Polish alphabet and is used on a daily basis only in a very limited set of loan words. More importantly, the Polish equivalent of the Ukrainian Slavko would be Sławek, which contains the letter "ł", pronounced quite differently from "l" (in a way its proper pronounciation resembles that of the letter "w" in the word "walk"). UEFA, however, refused to incorporate non-English letters in the mascots' names.^[42] They were designed by Warner Bros.

Ticketing[link]

Tickets were sold directly by UEFA via its website, or are to be distributed by the football associations of the 16 finalists. Applications had to be made during March 2011 for the 1.4 million tickets available for the 31 tournament matches.^[43] Over 12 million applications were received, which represented a 17% increase on the 2008 finals, and an all-time record for the UEFA European Championship.^[44] Owing to this over-subscription for the matches, lotteries were carried out to allocate tickets.

Prices varied from €30 (£25) (for a seat behind the goals at a group match) to €600 (£513) (for a seat in the main stand at the final). In addition to individual match tickets, fans could buy packages to see either all matches played by one team, or all matches at one specific venue.^[45]

In May 2012, UEFA will start sending tickets to fans which bought tickets also immediately UEFA will start selling additional tickets on ticketing website.

Trophy[link]

New Henri Delaunay Trophy

The Henri Delaunay Trophy began a journey through the host cities seven weeks before the start of the tournament. A hundred days before the first match a 35.5-metre-high (116 ft) hot air balloon in the shape of the trophy was flown in Nyon, Switzerland and will visit 14 cities throughout the host countries, reminding spectators of the impending tournament.^[46] 20 April 2012 was started Trophy Tour during which will visit Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Poznań, Kraków, Katowice and Łódź cities. After Polish cities, Trophy will visit seven Ukrainian cities: Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Odesa.^[47][48]

Merchandising[link]

UEFA signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to help promote the tournament.^[49] Warner Bros. agreed to license the following to the third parties: Accessories, Apparel, Automotive accessories, Baby personal care and accessories, Bags, Computer accessories, Drinking vessels, Footwear, General souvenirs, Home textiles, Houseware products and accessories, Jewellery, Publications, Sports accessories, Stationery and writing instruments, Toys and games.^[50]

Music[link]

The official Euro 2012 song is "Endless Summer" by the German singer Oceana.^[51] In addition, UEFA has retained the melody that was composed by Rollo Armstrong of Faithless on its behalf for the 2008 tournament.^[52]

The official Polish song for the tournament is "Koko Euro Spoko" by the folk band Jarzębina.^[53] The Republic of Ireland has also produced an official song: "The Rocky Road to Poland" recorded by a collaboration of Irish performers has already reached number 1 in Ireland.^[54] In Spain, the broadcasting company Mediaset España commissioned the song "No hay 2 sin 3", performed by David Bisbal and Cali & El Dandee and produced by RedOne.^[55]

New airport terminal at Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in Gdańsk

New airport terminal at Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport in Lviv

Polish PKP Intercity have painted their locomotives in the colours of the 16 finalists.

Infrastructure[link]

Road system in Poland

Road system in Ukraine

In preparation for the tournament, the transport system in Poland and Ukraine has been extensively modified to cope with the large influx of football fans. 1.4 million tickets have been sold for the games, and over 20,000 people are forecast to cross the Poland-Ukraine border each day during the tournament.^[56]

UEFA required both host nations to renovate their infrastructure – motorways, train stations and airport terminals – surrounding the host cities.^[57][58][59]

The cost of these infrastructure projects is considerable. In Poland the total cost of key works is forecast to exceed €18 billion.^[60] The President of Ukraine confirmed that his country had spent almost €3.3 billion on infrastructure.^[61]

Holocaust Memorial[link]

Delegations including the German,^[62] the Italian,^[63] the Dutch^[64] and the English,^[65] will visit the Auschwitz concentration camp, before the start of the tournament, to pay tribute to the murdered Poles and Jews. The camp is the most well-known of a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by and in the Third Reich during the Second World War.

Concerns and controversies[link]

An editor has expressed a concern that this section lends undue weight to certain ideas relative to the article as a whole. Please help to discuss and resolve the dispute before removing this message. (May 2012)

After Poland and Ukraine were chosen by a vote of the UEFA Executive Committee as host countries for Euro 2012, several issues arose, mostly on the Ukrainian side. Preparation work proceeded more speedily in Poland than in Ukraine and, following a visit in April 2009, Platini announced that all was on track and he saw no major problems.^[66] UEFA confirmed the appointment of the Polish cities of Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław and Gdańsk.^[67] At the same meeting, an appeal for the delayed decision on the Ukrainian venues was granted to Lviv, Donetsk and Kharkiv in order to meet specific conditions regarding infrastructure, with a warning that only Kiev and the best prepared city of the other candidates would otherwise be used if issues were not resolved by the end of November.^{[68][69][70][71]}

Claimed problems in preparation[link]

In January 2008, UEFA president Michel Platini warned the organisers of the need to avoid "critical slippages" in their preparations,^[72] prompting Scotland to volunteer as an alternative host twice.^[73][74] However, by June 2008, UEFA stated they were "not discussing any plan B in terms of new countries" hosting.^[75]

Ukraine reported several problems which threatened their ability to co-host, including delays in the renovation of Kiev’s Olympic Stadium,^[76] and difficulties funding infrastructure work after the economic crisis struck.^[77] After an inspection in April 2009, Platini re-affirmed that Ukraine would remain co-host, hinting that most matches could go to Poland.^[66] Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, stated that his country would be capable of the task, but was committed to the original plans,^[78] as was the PZPN.^[79]

In September 2009, Platini announced that "Ukraine has made sudden progress in their efforts to stage the tournament,"^[80] and it was soon confirmed that their four cities (Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev and Lviv) would host matches. Kiev was also confirmed to host the Final.^[81]

An interview Platini gave to the German FA in May 2010, suggesting that Germany and Hungary could replace Ukraine unless improvements were made, cast new doubt on their readiness.^[82] However, by August, Platini revisited that and stated "You can consider that the ultimatum no longer exists,"^[83] and that he was optimistic about preparations in both countries and saw no major obstacles.^[84] After a UEFA delegation visited Ukraine in September 2011, he stated the country was "virtually ready for Euro 2012".^[85]

Suspension of PZPN[link]

In September 2008 Polish government suspended the Polish Football Association (PZPN) over corruption issues and assigned an administrator to fight against corruption in football. UEFA swiftly issued a letter warning that it risked losing the right to co-host.^[86] The decision of Drzewiecki, Polish Minster for Sport, remained unchanged. ^[87]

Boycott calls[link]

Following Yulia Tymoshenko's hunger strike which started on 20 April 2012 and her mistreatment in a Ukrainian prison, there have been growing calls to boycott the Euro 2012 in Ukraine.^[88] The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding and Androulla Vassiliou the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth have announced they will boycott the tournament in Ukraine.^[89][90] The Austrian Chancellor, Werner Faymann, announced in May that Austrian government officials would not attend the tournament as a "political signal".^[91] Belgium's government officials have announced they will boycott games held in Ukraine, with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders calling on Ukraine's government to respect all of Tymoshenko's rights.^[92] Germany has announced that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit would depend on Tymoshenko's release,^[89] and she has urged her ministers to do the same.^[93] Germany's Interior and sports minister Hans-Peter Friedrich will boycott the Germany v Netherlands match in Kharkiv.^[93] The manager of Bayern Munich has called on the president of UEFA to condemn Ukraine's authoritarian regime,^[93] and the manager of Borussia Dortmund has stated that he will boycott the event.^[93] However, German sports officials have said that such boycotts are ineffective and the event should go ahead.^[94] Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has criticised calls for a boycott saying that they are inappropriate,^[95] but added that Ukraine's reputation will "suffer dramatically" without a solution.^[96] Poland's opposition party is in favour of boycotting matches in Ukraine to change decision about Yulia Tymoshenko.^[97]

Ukraine has compared the threats of boycott by European powers as a return to Cold War tactics.^[98] In a statement UEFA says it has "alerted the Ukrainian delegation about the concerns raised by the political situation in Ukraine among European politicians and media",^[99] but that "UEFA has no position and will not take any regarding the political situation in Ukraine, and will not interfere with internal government matters."^[100] Meanwhile the heads of state of Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Slovenia reportedly turned down an invitation to attend a summit of central and eastern leaders that Ukraine was due to hold.^[101] The European Union asserted that all its commissioners would boycott the events in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted in saying that the boycott call was wrong and offered to give Tymoshenko medical treatment in his country, this was rejected. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry added that the threat of boycott could "hurt mutual understanding" and that they "view as destructive attempts to politicise sporting events, which since ancient times have played a paramount role in improving understanding and agreement between nations. An attack on this big dream undermines the chances of...all the former Socialist Bloc members to prove that their economic, human and scientific potential can turn them from the debtors of Europe to its engine of growth."^[96]

Racism, antisemitism and hooliganism[link]

On 28 May 2012, BBC current affairs programme Panorama examined the issues of racism, antisemitism and football hooliganism which it stated were prevalent among Polish and Ukrainian supporters.^[102] The programme, titled Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate, included recent footage of supporters chanting various antisemitic slogans and displays of white power symbols and banners. The documentary recorded widespread Nazi salutes, Sieg Heil chants, antisemitism and monkey noise taunts of black players.^[102] FC Metalist Kharkiv supporters were seen violently assaulting a group of Asian students at the Metalist Oblast Sports Complex, one of the stadiums hosting matches in Ukraine.^[103][104]

Various governments including France, Denmark and the United Kingdom have warned fans about the risk of racial violence.^[105][106] Anti-discrimination training is being provided for 80,000 police officers and match stewards in Ukraine, where the police attitude towards hate crimes has been previously criticised by the US State Department, who said: "The police and government's slow response to hate crimes is a continuing concern. Although senior government officials have publicly deplored these hate crimes, street-level law enforcement officials are either unwilling or unable to deter hate crimes effectively or protect racial minorities adequately."^[107]

The documentary was criticised as unfair by the Euro 2012 organisers. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleh Voloshyn responded that the allegations were an "invented and mythical problem",^[108]and that "Nazi symbols can be seen at ... any match in England".^[109] Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated: "Nobody who comes to Poland will be in any danger because of his race. This is not our custom, as is not pointing out similar incidents in other countries."^[110] Serhiy Pohotov, the head of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's Public Safety Department, said: "We have a sufficient number of police officers to properly respond to all reports. The information voiced [about possible racially-motivated provocations and disturbances] is being checked. Currently we have no such data that mass disturbances or provocations are being planned against dark-skinned people."^[111]

Animal cruelty[link]

Ukraine has come under criticism from animal welfare organisations for killing stray cats and dogs in order to prepare for Euro 2012.^[112] On 13 November 2011 the Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources announced they would immediately stop and prohibit the killing of stray dogs.^{[113][114][115]} Mykola Zlochevsky, minister of the environment, said that amendments would be made to the Ukrainian legislation regarding the treatment of stray animals.^[116] The minister also agreed a programme of construction for new animal shelters, the first to be completed by June 2012, and the introduction of new legislation making it "compulsory for city mayors to enforce such new regulations or run the risk of facing prosecution."^[113] People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claimed in December that dogs were still being killed in preparation for the tournament.^[112]

Terrorism[link]

On 27 April 2012, four bombs went off in Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine (which is not a host city). At least 29 people were injured in what was described as a terrorist attack.^[117] Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said that there would be an "adequate" response.^[118] Hryhoriy Surkis, the head of the Ukrainian Football Federation, said that he "think[s] the people who committed this brutal crime...are also accomplices to an attack on the image of our country ahead of the Euro-2012." UEFA responded to the incident saying that it as confident of having a "smooth and festive tournament,"^[119] however, should the political situation become more unstable, UEFA is reported to be open to the idea of the postponing the event to 2013.^[120] Following serious security concerns, Angel Maria Villar, the Spanish Football Federation president, has reportedly offered to stage Euro 2012 in Spain.^[120]

Protests[link]

The FEMEN group has protested against a feared surge in prostitution and what they argue are Ukrainian government moves to legalise prostitution during the championships. Activists staged several topless protests, some on the Euro 2012 trophy while it was on public display.^[121][122] The group asked UEFA and the Ukrainian government to create a social program devoted to the problem of sex tourism and prostitution in Ukraine; to inform football fans that prostitution is illegal in Ukraine; and to take additional steps to fight against prostitution and sex tourism.^[123][124]

Hotels overcharging[link]

In April 2012, while on an inspection trip to the host city of Lviv, UEFA president Michel Platini labelled hoteliers as "bandits and crooks" for raising hotel prices in Ukraine for Euro 2012.^[125] President Yanukovych ordered his government to prevent hoteliers from charging inflated prices.^[126] Some hoteliers had increased prices eighty-fold, causing Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to warn that state control of hotel tariffs might be introduced.^[127] Later that month, Markian Lubkivsky, head of the Euro 2012 organizing committee in Ukraine, said hotel and hostel prices were no longer "critically" inflated.^[128]

References[link]

External links[link]

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Iker Casillas

Personal information
Full name	Iker Casillas Fernández
Date of birth	(1981-05-20) 20 May 1981 (age 31)
Place of birth	Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	1
Youth career
1990–1998	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–1999	Real Madrid C	26	(0)
1999	Real Madrid B	4	(0)
1999–	Real Madrid	457	(0)
National team‡
1996	Spain U15	1	(0)
1996–1998	Spain U16	19	(0)
1997–1999	Spain U17	10	(0)
1999	Spain U18	4	(0)
1999	Spain U20	2	(0)
1999–2000	Spain U21	5	(0)
2000–	Spain	130	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:02, 13 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 May 2012

Iker Casillas Fernández (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈikeɾ kaˈsiʎas feɾˈnandeθ]; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for the Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, being the captain of both. In 2008 he led the Spanish national team to their first European Championship in 44 years, and in 2010 to win the World Cup, Spain's first ever, being also named the tournament's best goalkeeper.

Casillas has been nominated for the European Footballer of the Year award twice, ranking fourth overall in 2008 and again receiving more votes than any other goalkeeper in 2009.^[2] At the end of 2009 he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year for the third consecutive time. As of 2011 Casillas is one of a very select group of players who have won all major club and national championship titles. In 2010, he was awarded with the Sports Prince of Asturias Award. On 19 October 2010, Casillas became the most capped goalkeeper of all time in the UEFA Champions League and in November 2011, he became the most capped player of all time for the Spanish national team.^[3]

Early life[link]

Casillas was born on 20 May 1981 in Móstoles, Community of Madrid to José Luis Casillas, a civil servant in the Ministry of Education, and María del Carmen Fernández González, a hairdresser.^[4] Both his parents had emigrated from their home of Navalacruz, Ávila.^[4] When Iker was a child, he lived for some years in the Basque Country, but he has always considered Madrid to be his hometown.^{[citation needed]} Casillas has a brother, seven years younger, named Unai, who currently plays as a central midfielder for CD Móstoles.^[5]

As a young child, one weekend Casillas forgot to post his father’s football predictions on the weekend his father had correctly predicted all 14 results. The family lost out on an estimated €1m.^[6]

Real Madrid[link]

Casillas had started in the junior squad of Real Madrid's youth system during the 1990–91 season. On 27 November 1997 at age 16 he was first called up to the first team to face Rosenborg in Champions League, but it wasn't until the 1998–99 season that he debuted in the senior side, substituting Bodo Illgner. By the next season, he relegated Illgner to the bench and became first-choice.^[7] In 2000, he became the youngest ever goalkeeper to play in a Champions League final when Real Madrid defeated Valencia 3–0, just four days after his nineteenth birthday.^[8]

Casillas at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

Casillas lost his place in the side to backup César Sánchez after a patch of bad form during the 2001–02 campaign, but redeemed himself when Sánchez suffered an injury in the last minutes of 2002 Champions League final match. Casillas came on and pulled off several brilliant saves to deny a rampant Bayer Leverkusen the Champions League crown. Real Madrid won 2–1 and Casillas has maintained the number 1 shirt ever since.

The 2007–08 season was a fruitful season for Casillas as he helped Real Madrid reclaim their 31st La Liga title and conceded only 32 goals in 36 matches to claim the Zamora Trophy. On 14 February 2008, he and then club captain Raúl González were awarded a contract for life. Casillas signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2017, with an automatic extension if he plays 30 competitive matches during the final season of the contract and a buy-out clause of £113 million.^[9][10] His performances earned him a spot in the UEFA Team of the Year for the second time.

In February 2009, Casillas equalled Paco Buyo's record of 454 matches played (for a goalkeeper) and has since surpassed it to become Real Madrid's most-capped goalkeeper of all time at only twenty-seven years old.^[11] During the 2009 summer transfer window, some Spanish media reported that Manchester City had launched a record £129 million bid for the goalkeeper. However the club denied the allegations saying that no such offer had been made. Manchester United had been rumoured to have enquired about him, but no price was announced.^[12] He had been linked with other Premier League clubs before^[13] but Casillas himself stated that he "had no intention of leaving" his boyhood club.

During the 2009–10 season on 4 October in a game against Sevilla, Casillas made an extraordinary save; he ran from one side of his goal to the other and denied Diego Perotti in a one-on-one close range encounter. After the match, he received praise from fellow Spanish goalkeepers and England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who stated "Casillas' reflexes are incredible. If he continues to play this well he will become one of the best goalkeepers in the history of the game."^[14] Europa Press reported that Casillas was the 2nd most popular Spanish sportsman on the internet throughout 2010. The study performed by company Vipnet360 examined the web presence on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.^[15]

During the 2011–12 season, Casillas won IFFHS Best Goalkeeper award, making him the only and first goalkeeper to win it 4 times.

Casillas played his 600th match for Real Madrid on January 22, 2012 in a 4–1 win against Athletic Bilbao.

On 2nd May 2012, Casillas clinched his 5th La Liga title and his 1st as a Captain of Real Madrid, with 3-0 win at Bilbao.

International career[link]

Casillas debuted for the national team in the U–17 level. At age 16, he was the youngest player in the Spanish squad that placed third at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt. He was later made captain of the U-17's. Two years later, he went on to win the FIFA World Youth Championship and the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup that same year. Initially second-choice, he soon worked his way up to first-choice and eventually earned his first senior cap following some brilliant performances at club level.

Iker Casillas playing for Spain

Casillas is currently the most capped player in the history of the Spanish national team. Following his full international debut at the senior level on 3 June 2000 against Sweden (at 19 years and 14 days), Casillas was an unused substitute at Euro 2000. He was part of the roster for the 2002 World Cup, initially as the understudy to Santiago Cañizares. Coincidentally, Casillas became the first-choice goalkeeper when Cañizares had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury from a freak accident. At 21, he was one of the youngest first-choice goalkeepers in the tournament. He played an instrumental role in Spanish progression when he saved two penalties in the shoot-out during the round of 16 match against the Republic of Ireland, earning him the nickname "The Saint". One of his saves during the quarterfinals versus South Korea during the 2002 FIFA World Cup was rated by FIFA as one of the top 10 saves of all time.^[16]

Casillas played in all eight Group six fixtures during Euro 2004 qualifying, conceding just four goals. He kept a clean sheet in the second leg victory of the playoff against Norway which ended 3–0 in Oslo, and started all of Spain's Euro 2004 matches. He was the first choice for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, captaining the team twice, but could not prevent La Roja from losing 3–1 to a Zidane-inspired France in the Round of 16.

With the exclusion of his Real Madrid teammate Raúl from the squad for Euro 2008, Casillas was given the captain's armband. He started the first two Group D games against Russia and Sweden before being rested in place of second-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina for Spain's group stage elimination of Greece. Casillas saved two penalties from Antonio Di Natale and Daniele De Rossi as Spain eliminated Italy in the quarterfinals with a 4–2 shootout win following a goalless draw on 22 June.^[17] Spain later went on to win the competition with a 1–0 win over Germany in the final on 29 June; Casillas kept clean sheets for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches, with Sweden's first round goal by Zlatan Ibrahimović being the last one scored against him. On 29 June 2008 Casillas became the first goalkeeper-captain to lift the UEFA European Championship trophy when Spain beat Germany 1–0 in the final.^[18]

Casillas was the captain of Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.

In October 2008, Casillas and deputy in goal Pepe Reina broke the national record for the longest time spent without conceding a goal. The pair went unbeaten for 710 minutes, longer than Spain's longest-serving goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta and Paco Buyo.^[19] Wesley Sonck of Belgium ended their goalless streak when he scored against them a 2010 World Cup qualifying match.

Casillas was the highest ranked goalkeeper (4th place) in the 2008 Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and national teammate Fernando Torres. Also in 2008 Casillas was named the world's best goalkeeper by the IFFHS.^[20] He also came in third place in the best goalkeepers of all time ranking; beating Oliver Kahn.^[20]

On 5 September 2009, after a 5–0 win over Belgium in a qualifying match for the World Cup, Casillas equalled Andoni Zubizarreta's national record of 56 clean sheets,^[21] and during the Spanish team's next match against Estonia on 9 September 2009, he surpassed Zubizarreta as the record holder for the most Spanish international clean sheets (this being achieved in Casillas' 98th appearance for the national team, while Zubizarreta made 126 before his retirement).^[21] Two months later, Casillas made his 100th appearance for the Spanish squad in the friendly win over Argentina, making him only the third player in history of Spanish football to ever reach this far internationally.^[22]

On 11 July 2010, he captained Spain to their first ever World Cup title with a 1–0 win against the Netherlands.^[23] In doing so he became the third ever goalkeeper to captain a World Cup winning side (along with Gianpiero Combi in 1934 and Dino Zoff in 1982). He was voted the tournament's best goalkeeper and awarded the Golden Glove.^[24] In the course of the finals in South Africa he kept five clean sheets, conceded two goals, and saved a penalty in the quarter final against Paraguay. In the final, he made two crucial stops from Netherlands' Arjen Robben with the score at 0–0 after the Dutchman had passed all the defenders.

On 15 November 2011, Casillas became Spain's most capped player, breaking Andoni Zubizarreta's record after starting for Spain in their 2–2 draw against Costa Rica.

On 29 February 2012, in Spain's 5–0 win over Venezuela, Casillas equalled Edwin van der Sar's record of 72 international clean sheets.

Sponsorship[link]

In January 2012, Casillas agreed a sponsorship deal with adidas to wear their Response goalkeeping gloves and Predator football boots.^[25] The move to adidas ended a long running association for Casillas with Reebok. In February 2005, Casillas was the football face of Reebok's I Am What I Am global integrated advertising campaign that linked all the brand's marketing efforts under one umbrella. ^[26]

Statistics[link]

As of 13 May 2012

Club[link]

International[link]