Puskas Arena incidents under investigation by UEFA
Budapest is one of the host cities for the tournament and Hungary’s 3-0 defeat to Portugal and 1-1 draw against France in Group F each took place at the Puskas Arena.
During the Portugal game, images of a banner among the home supporters in the stands reading “ANTI LMBTQ” – referring to the Hungarian language abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer – circulated on social media. The matter was reported to UEFA by anti-discrimination group Fare.
Before Sunday’s game with France, some Hungary fans took part in a pre-match march in Budapest and unveiled a banner opposing the act of kneeling before matches, a peaceful anti-racism protest in which several teams have participated.
Given the latter incident took place outside the stadium, it does not fall under UEFA’s jurisdiction.
However, a statement issued by European football’s governing body said it was investigating possible acts of discrimination inside the Puskas Arena from both matches.
The statement read: “In accordance with article 31(4) of the UEFA disciplinary regulations, a UEFA ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding potential discriminatory incidents which occurred in the Puskas Arena, Budapest, during the 2020 European Championship group stage matches between the national teams of Hungary and Portugal on 15 June 2021 and between the national teams of Hungary and France played on 19 June 2021.
