Euro 2020: UEFA’s Response To Greek Protest Over North Macedonia Jersey

LAUSANNE: UEFA is a response to the Greek protest over North Macedonia’s shirt at the EURO 2020 said that it will not change the jersey. They rejected the request made to change the shirt. As per the Greeks, the shirt disrespected the historic treaty between the Balkan neighbours.

According to the Greeks, the initials FFM (Football Federation of Macedonia) that is printed on the shirt is a call to Balkan country’s name before the 2018 treaty that solved a very old diplomatic fight between the Balkan neighbours. They demanded that the shirt be changed and even an official request was made for it.

UEFA shared that they indeed got a letter from the Greek government asking them to change the shirt. In reply, the EURO football governing body rejected the plea and said that “UEFA uses the name Football Federation of North Macedonia in all its official communication and has adapted the relevant terminology accordingly, including in the UEFA statutes and with regard to UEFA Euro 2020”.

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It was not just the shirt but also about the name. Greece did not accept the name Macedonia for the former Yugoslav republic as it has a region in the same name. For a long time, the North Macedonia team was called ‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)’. They played under this name for all these years to avoid a protest from the Greeks. But now they finally made the change.

The Euro Cup 2021 started on June 12. If you want to watch the match in India, you can do so at 9.30 pm and 12.30 am IST. Uefa European Championship which was meant to be held in 2020 got postponed due to the Covid19 pandemic. The final match of the Euro Cup will be held on July 12, 2021.