GERMANY'S interior minister has said it was "absolutely irresponsible" for Uefa to allow more than 40,000 fans into Wembley Stadium to watch England play Germany at Euro 2020.
The politician also said he believed money was behind the decision, and said public health must come first.
The crowd of 41,973 at Tuesday's match was the biggest in Britain since the pandemic began and came while the more contagious Delta variant, first found in India, is fuelling a significant increase in new cases in the UK.
Of the 11 cities hosting Euro 2020 matches, only Budapest currently allows larger crowds. Up to 61,000 spectators can enter the Hungarian stadium.
However, Wembley plans to allow larger crowds for later matches. Group matches and first round of 16 match were planned to run at 25% of the stadium capacity, or around 22,500 fans.
READ MORE: Tory minister defends exempting Uefa VIPs from Covid quarantine rules
The second round of 16 match, England vs Germany, was planned to run at 50% capacity (around 45,000 fans).
The English stadium will also host the tournament's semi-finals and final. Organisers hope to host 75% of the stadium's capacity, around 60,000 people, for those games.
Munich, where matches in Germany were hosted, allowed 14,500 thousands fans (or 20% of the stadium capacity). Glasgow's Hampden Park allowed 12,000 fans to enter.
German interior minister Horst Seehofer (above), who is also responsible for sport, was asked about the attendance at the England vs Germany match and the prospect of more fans attending the semi-finals and final at Wembley.
He said: "I think this Uefa position is absolutely irresponsible."
Seehofer added that he thinks money is driving the decision "and commerce must not outshine the protection of the population against infection".
He also appealed to Uefa "not to push this off on local health authorities" and said the governing body of European football should say "we don't want it this way and we're reducing the numbers of spectators".
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