UEFA to open Warsaw stadium roof
Reuters - Saturday 09 June 2012, 21:41
The retractable roof of Warsaw's
national stadium will be opened for the remaining games of Euro
2012, UEFA said on Saturday, saying a much criticised decision
to close it for the tournament's opening game was due to a
thunderstorm.
Polish media and officials have complained that the humid
atmosphere in the stadium contributed to a poor second half
performance by the co-hosts who had dominated Greece in the
first half with an energetic pressing game.
"For sure it cost them a lot in that sauna," Polish coach
Franciszek Smuda told reporters after training on Saturday.
"I could feel on the bench that it was hot, the conditions
were very difficult. I think for the Russian game [on Tuesday],
the roof will be open."
A spokesman for UEFA said the roof had been closed to
protect Friday's game and the tournament's opening ceremony from
a thunderstorm that flooded the area around the stadium two
hours before kick-off.
"The roof will be open for the remaining matches taking
place in Warsaw unless there are exceptional weather
circumstances," UEFA spokesman Robert Faulkner told Reuters.
"This was always the plan."