If it were up to one UEFA official, the family party scenes we’ve witnessed at the Euro 2016 tournament in France would stop. That man is none other than tournament director Martin Kallen, who believes the pitch is a dangerous spot for young kids to be at post-match.
“It is a European Championship not a family party … a stadium is not the most safe place for small kids,” Kallen said, via The Guardian in the U.K.
He may have a valid point, as violence on and off the pitch marred earlier rounds of the tournament. There were incidents between English and Russian fans, flares thrown on the pitch by Croatian fans, and, of course, crazy pitch invaders galore.
Those scenes have given Kallen and the tournament officials pause for concern when it comes to small children on the pitch, but they aren’t applying a ban to the practice either.
“It is nice pictures. We are not 100% against it but we are cautious.
“It is getting more and more a habit that entire family members would like to go on the pitch or into the technical area. The principle is how far you go with having other people on the pitch than the players. People with accreditation cards should be on the pitch and not more.”
No set of pictures or video were more compelling than that of the Welsh players celebrating with their full-kitted up kids following a quarterfinal win over Belgium. Heck, the kids even went on for a kick-about in front of the Welsh fans behind one of the goals.
Yet, the tournament organizers would certainly hate to see anything happen to the young kids with elements that don’t necessarily care about safety in and around these stadiums.
It will be interesting to see how UEFA and the tournament organizers handle this type of situation in the coming final weekend of the tournament.