Ex Shelton Seagull
New member
I always assumed the glourious sight of a tiny minority overturning the wishes of the majority was an English tradition. Seems like it's spread to Switzerland as well.
The Hardturm Stadium in Zurich will not be ready in time for the 2008 European Championships, the Swiss Football Association (SFA) announced on Wednesday.
The 30,000-seater stadium, to be built on the site of the venue used by Grasshoppers Zurich, was scheduled to be completed for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria.
The people of Zurich had voted in favour of the stadium's construction and planning began three years ago. However, some local residents and environmental groups delayed the construction process with appeals against planning permission.
"Both the organisers and the UEFA are disappointed that -- as the situation looks today -- there will be no Euro 2008 matches in Zurich," the SFA said in a statement."
Organisers had offered FC Zurich's Letzigrund stadium as an alternative but conceded the time schedule required to get the venue up to the required standard "seems unrealistic" and the tournament is likely to use just seven venues.
In a statement, UEFA said: "For a new venue to be considered, it would have to be fully operational by the summer of 2007. This would allow enough time to test all facilities during a regular football season."
The seven venues selected for Euro 2008 are Basel, Berne and Geneva in Switzerland and Vienna, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria.
UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson said: "We remain fully confident that the Local Organising Committee will run a successful tournament, even though seven stadiums may be used instead of the eight initially planned.
"We are disappointed that the wish to have a new Hardturm stadium built to be used for Euro 2008, as expressed in the poll by the citizens of Zurich, was destroyed by a small minority."
It all sounds so familiar. I bet some total f*cktard of an MP is involved with the anti's as well.
The Hardturm Stadium in Zurich will not be ready in time for the 2008 European Championships, the Swiss Football Association (SFA) announced on Wednesday.
The 30,000-seater stadium, to be built on the site of the venue used by Grasshoppers Zurich, was scheduled to be completed for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria.
The people of Zurich had voted in favour of the stadium's construction and planning began three years ago. However, some local residents and environmental groups delayed the construction process with appeals against planning permission.
"Both the organisers and the UEFA are disappointed that -- as the situation looks today -- there will be no Euro 2008 matches in Zurich," the SFA said in a statement."
Organisers had offered FC Zurich's Letzigrund stadium as an alternative but conceded the time schedule required to get the venue up to the required standard "seems unrealistic" and the tournament is likely to use just seven venues.
In a statement, UEFA said: "For a new venue to be considered, it would have to be fully operational by the summer of 2007. This would allow enough time to test all facilities during a regular football season."
The seven venues selected for Euro 2008 are Basel, Berne and Geneva in Switzerland and Vienna, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria.
UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson said: "We remain fully confident that the Local Organising Committee will run a successful tournament, even though seven stadiums may be used instead of the eight initially planned.
"We are disappointed that the wish to have a new Hardturm stadium built to be used for Euro 2008, as expressed in the poll by the citizens of Zurich, was destroyed by a small minority."
It all sounds so familiar. I bet some total f*cktard of an MP is involved with the anti's as well.