German int'l Lukas Podolski has branded UEFA's redesigned European Championship format "stupid," suggesting that the expanded competition "encouraged teams to play defensively and limit losses in the group stage," according to Rory Smith of the LONDON TIMES. Germany "struggled to impress" in its opening three games and in its Round of 16 fixture, the team "cut loose," beating Slovakia 3-0. Podolski, once of Arsenal and now of Galatasaray, "believes the reason for the discrepancy can be found in the way the tournament was set up, which meant some teams had to wait for several days to discover if they had qualified for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed sides." Podolski: "The group stage was a little bit strange because UEFA did some stupid things with the system. It is not about the smaller teams, it’s about the decisions. Some teams waited three days in the camp for a decision" (LONDON TIMES, 6/27). In London, Jonathan Liew wrote Podolski's comments "echoed those by his Manager Joachim Löw earlier in the tournament." Löw said that the fact that a team could qualify by winning only one match was "not very fair," even though this was "technically still possible under the old system." For now Germany has a quarterfinal against Italy to look forward to on Saturday. Podolski said, "Italy or Spain, it doesn’t matter. You have to beat everyone when you want to be the European champions. Maybe it’s better to play a big team. You have to focus" (TELEGRAPH, 6/27).
BOMB SCARE: The Aberdeen PRESS AND JOURNAL reported reports in France "suggest entry to the Stade de France was blocked off" on Monday due to a "possible bomb threat." A "strong police presence blocked off the area" surrounding the Stade de France in Paris but it is believed the block has "now been lifted and people can once again head towards the stadium" (PRESS AND JOURNAL, 6/27).
