A pay dispute saw construction workers block the main route to the Arena Gdansk prior to the Euro 2012 match between Spain and Croatia.
Sub-contractors claim general contractor Hydrobudowa has withheld payment for building a road which links the stadium to Gdansk airport.
Protestors held aloft banners asking Euro 2012, but at what cost? , with up to 100 different contractors demanding payment of approximately 12 million euros between them.
The workers did allow fan buses access to the stadium, where Spain defeated Croatia 1-0 to secure top spot in Group C on Tuesday.
Tournament organisers will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the disruption when the Arena Gdansk plays host to the quarter-final between Germany and Greece on Saturday.
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Watching Alvaro Morata toil at Euro 2020 has been almost tragic, with every miss seemingly guaranteed to invite some form of pile-on, whether on social media or from fans inside the stadium.
Rarely do footballers inspire feelings of sympathy, with fans perhaps generally forgetting that these entertainers performing for our satisfaction are humans too, carrying out a job like any other member of society.
Maybe it is the money they re paid that prevents certain individuals from feeling empathy for footballers, but surely even the most vociferous cheerleaders of footballers wages for soldiers and other comparable arguments must have felt some kind of compassion for Morata at one time or another during this tournament.
Even before a ball was kicked, Morata was alread…
Guangzhou Evergrande coach Marcello Lippi has labelled Germany as favourites to win Euro 2012.
Joachim Loew s side were the only team in the tournament to win all their group matches as they managed to top the so-called Group of Death and set up a quarter-final meeting with Greece on Friday.
When asked who he thought was the strongest team in the tournament so far, Lippi told La Gazzetta dello Sport: Germany. (They have) class and personality.
The 2006 World Cup-winning coach also praised striker Mario Gomez, who is joint-top scorer at the tournament with three goals along with Russia s Alan Dzagoev and Mario Mandzukic of Croatia.
Gomez is in a state of grace, if he has the ball, he scores goals. But there is not only Gomez, Die Mannschaft have many ot…
The Qatar World Cup is not a tournament for fans , says Germany coach Hansi Flick, who believes football should be there for everyone .
The latest staging of the flagship tournament has been the source of much controversy since it was awarded to Qatar in 2010.
The nation s stance towards women and the LGBTQ+ community was widely pointed to as a problem from the outset, while the deaths of thousands of migrant workers have been reported during preparation for the finals.
Given Qatar s limited accommodation facilities and the move to the middle of the European club season, the competition has presented issues for both fans and players, even beyond those moral debates.
And Flick had supporters in mind as he added his voice to those criticising the 2022 W…
Barely a month has passed since Giorgio Chiellini lifted the European Championship trophy at Wembley, and it would seem logical to expect Serie A to begin amid high fanfare.
This may prove to be the case, as the opening weekend of the season arrives, but a major talent drain from the Italian league since last term cannot be ignored.
Romelu Lukaku, Cristian Romero and Gianluigi Donnarumma have all moved on, swapping Inter, Atalanta and Milan respectively for Chelsea, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain.
To put those losses into greater context, of the 2020-21 Serie A end-of-season award winners, that is the MVP, the top defender and the leading goalkeeper all exiting the league.
Sweeping changes on the coaching benches also add to uncertainty as the new camp…
Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Premier League powerhouse Arsenal have been pitted against each other regularly over the past couple of years in the Champions League knockouts and, it appears, Bavarians find it rather inspiring to play against Gunners.
They have scored the total of 21 goals against Arsenal since 2013 and conceded only nine, which speaks volumes.
Here you have all the goals in one place:
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The National Football League kicked off on Thursday night with the Hall of Fame Game, and that means one thing in the betting world: After 172 days, we can officially wager on NFL games again.
And it’s not just bettors rejoicing for NFL preseason betting — sportsbooks are thrilled to get NFL action back as well.
“Last night’s Hall of Fame Game drew 21.8% more turnover than the previous year’s game between Dallas and Pittsburgh,” said Wyatt Yearout, media analytics manager of PointsBet.
DraftKings noted that the total amount of bets doubled when compared to 2021 and that the Hall of Fame Game drew more total handle than any MLB game on Thursday.
Sports Interaction (SIA) in Canada reported a similar handle t…
The Chicago Bears finally snapped their five-game losing skid, and Matt Nagy is still in charge, but facing the top-seeded Arizona Cardinals who are coming off the bye and getting healthy this weekend sounds like a losing cause. Kyler Murray was limited on Wednesday but is expected to suit up with the Cards sitting as 7.5-point road favorites and a total of 44.5.
Can Murray and DeAndre Hopkins return to full strength and help maintain the top spot in the NFC? Can Andy Dalton and this offense find any success against a Cardinals defense that ranks No. 2 in EPA/play? Find out in our free NFL picks and predictions between the Cardinals vs. Bears On Sunday, December 5.
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We’re heading to Arrowhead on Monday night as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Las Vegas Raiders as 7-point home faves, with the highest total of the Week 5 slate at 51.5 points.
The Raiders’ defense just got torched by Russell Wilson, while the Chiefs have the No. 1 offense in EPA/play on the season. Will the Raiders be playing catch-up like the Buccaneers last week?
Find out in my free NFL player prop picks for Monday Night Football between the Raiders and Chiefs.
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The start of the 2023 NFL season has been anything but easy on the nerves of “Big Easy” sports bettors, with the New Orleans Saints’ first three games decided by a collective five points.
New Orleans has been on the winning side of those slim margins twice but came up a point short in Green Bay last week and left Lambeau Field without their starting quarterback. Derek Carr suffered a shoulder injury which has backup QB Jameis Winston taking snaps against his former team in Week 4.
The Saints welcome the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Superdome on a short week, with the Bucs still licking their wounds from a 25-11 loss at home to Philadelphia on Monday night. That pulled the curtain back on Tampa’s 2-0 start to the schedule and has the Buccaneers…