ZAt first only a soft murmur went through the festival hall. Karl-Heinz Riedle had just pulled the piece of paper with the imprint “France”, which meant: World champion France will compete in group B with the Netherlands in the qualifier for the European Championship in two years’ time. Things got really restless one draw later: Italy in Group C with England, the repeat of the match from the last European Championship final, that’s something that makes football hearts beat faster all over Europe.
It was without question the emotional high point of Sunday’s qualifying group draw in Frankfurt – a real groan from the delegates from the 54 of the 55 nations of the European Football Union (UEFA). The fact that a lap later Jürgen Klinsmann took a slip of paper from the lottery drum with the inscription “Ukraine”, also assigned to Group C, did not arouse any particular emotion – apart from the fact that the master of ceremonies, UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti, remarked that that this is “not an easy job” for Ukraine.
Wasn’t there something else? The draw in the Festhalle was something like the first calling card for the tournament in two years in ten German cities. It was carried by the desire to arouse desire for a happy, colourful, diverse, inclusive football festival, as the animated clip demonstrated right at the beginning.
Immediately afterwards, the singer Lena belted out her new song with the universally harmless message “Looking for Love”, later Klinsmann invoked the memory of the “open, hospitable and international Germany” at the 2006 World Cup (whereby his reference to the organizational skills of the Germans indicated that he had not been traveling by train for a long time).
The hope of a tournament with an effect beyond the football field is carried out by the German Football Association (DFB) at any time and offensively. Whether it’s President Bernd Neuendorf, head of organization Philipp Lahm or others – it sounds similar to what happened to the Federal Minister of the Interior on Sunday, when she formulated the higher (political) demands on the largest sporting event in Germany since the world tournament 16 years ago.
“For us it is very important that the EM is sustainable in our own country, that it respects human rights, that we are a good role model for the world,” said Nancy Faeser. Just a few weeks ago, in a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, the SPD politician called for Belarus to be excluded from qualifying alongside Russia.
Karl-Heinz Riedle holds up the lot with Liechtenstein.
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Image: EPA
On Sunday, however, that was the war in Ukraine with its shock waves chasing across the planet, not a syllable, not a symbol. Not when a few selected highlights of the past EM flickered across the screen, when the world was different, and not just for Ukraine. Not when the lottery procedure was explained with 53 nations in the pots; on the one hand it was worth mentioning that Germany was not among them as hosts, but on the other hand it was not that number 55, Russia, was missing – and why.
Nor, of course, when Belarus were drawn into Group I with the same formality as Ukraine had previously been in Group C. A ring of lights hung above the stage, apparently based on the roof of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, where the final was to be played on July 14, 2024 but at the same time he looked a bit like a halo, and although this image was certainly unintentional: football seemed to be enough on Sunday. In any case, in the Festhalle one could get the feeling that there was no reality out there.
Later there was someone in the mixed zone who, in a completely sober tone, but in a very penetrating manner, knew how to report on this other reality. Oleksandr Petrakov, 65 years old, head coach of the Ukrainian national team. He also did not consider it necessary to make an explicit reference to the situation in his country: “It’s about sport, a football festival, everyone knows our situation and we are very grateful for the support we get from all over Europe,” said he, which also confirmed DFB President Neuendorf, who had said that “no explanation is needed” when it comes to Russia.
However, Petrakov saw no room for maneuver in another political issue that is currently occupying the sports world: the question of the readmission of Russian athletes. “We are absolutely against it,” he said. “How are they supposed to compete when their army is killing our children, women and men? The world must not allow that as long as they do such things. In addition, some athletes have explicitly supported Putin. In my view, that is impossible.”
Before the qualification for 2024 promises something like sporting thrills, one can first look forward to how football will behave on this issue. UEFA CEO Ceferin did not appear at the draw, having announced the day before that he would stand for a further term with the support of all 55 UEFA associations.
