UEFA lawyer Jean-François Vilotte said on Tuesday that UEFA, which will launch its official resale platform for Euro 2016 tickets on Wednesday, will “simultaneously sue all websites illegally offering” the resale of Euro tickets, according to 20MINUTES. Vilotte said, “No one but the organizer has the right to sell tickets. We will attack illegal resale sites by any means available.” UEFA’s resale site will open at 11am on Wednesday and will “allow fans who have purchased tickets they do not want to resell them at face value and without commission.” Since ticket sales began last June, a number of illegal sites have “offered tickets for practically all matches,” with tickets for the final reaching €400 ($440). Vilotte: “We must warn consumers hoping to purchase tickets on these sites against two risks: first the sites are selling tickets they don’t have, because nobody has received any countermark. Buyers then risk never receiving anything, and if they do get something, they may not be able to enter the stadium” (20MINUTES, 3/8).
SECURITY SCRIMMAGE: The AFP reported French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced on Monday that a simulated terrorist attack on a fan zone, “a scenario feared by authorities in the lead-up to Euro 2016,” will be organized in Nîmes on March 16, according to the AFP. On March 15, Cazeneuve will “assemble the security and rescue officials” responsible for the tournament’s safety. Addressing the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission set up after the Nov. ’15 attacks in Paris, Cazeneuve said, “I am gathering the security and rescue officials responsible for the 16 large towns and cities that will host Euro 2016 (matches and fan zones), to discuss post-attack issues and procedures” (
AFP, 3/7).
