Greenpeace Apologises After Fans Hospitalised By Failed Parachute Stunt At Euro 2020

Greenpeace has apologised after several fans watching a Euro 2020 game were injured after a protest stunt went wrong. Watch what happened below:

The protester seemed to parasail in from above the roof of the Allianz Arena in Munich, the home of Bayern Munich, and was quickly swarmed by security personnel when he landed.

Becoming caught in the wires that hold up the spider camera above the pitch, the parachutist caused debris to into the stands, with some of it almost hitting France manager Didier Deschamps.

The video shows the protester swinging wildly around in the air before passing quickly over the heads of the crowd below.

The incident took place as France took on Germany as part of the tournament.

The protester landed on the pitch just after kick-off, with German centre-back Antonio Rudiger checking if he was alright.

Shortly after the whistle was blown, Greenpeace put out a short statement.

It read: "We sincerely apologise to the two people injured and to fans and players alike."

The parachute that made the crash landing had 'KICK OUT OIL!' and 'Greenpeace' written on it.

It explained that a soft ball was supposed to drop with a message for German company Volkswagen.

PA

Their statement continued: "The paraglider was supposed to go over the stadium and let a soft ball float down to the pitch with a protest message to EURO 2020 sponsor Volkswagen.

"We are calling on it to put an end-date to the production of climate damaging internal combustion engine cars and transition to EVs faster.

"Technical difficulties forced the pilot to an emergency landing in the stadium."

Greenpeace added it would 'do everything we can to clear up the cause for this'.

UEFA, the tournament's governing body, called the stunt 'reckless and dangerous'.

The European Football organisation's full statement read: "Shortly before the start of tonight's UEFA EURO 2020 match between France and Germany in Munich, a protester briefly entered the stadium from the air and tried to land on the pitch.

"This inconsiderate act - which could have had very serious consequences for a huge number of people attending - caused injuries to several people attending the game who are now in hospital and law authorities will take the necessary action.

PA

"UEFA and its partners are fully committed to a sustainable EURO 2020 tournament and many initiatives have been implemented to offset carbon emissions.

"The staging of the match was fortunately not impacted by such a reckless and dangerous action, but several people were injured nonetheless."

German national team spokesman Jens Grittner said: "We as the German football federation condemn it of course, because it wasn't just him, but others that he endangered and injured.

"It's unacceptable from our point of view and the incident is being checked by the police, the authorities here in Munich and at UEFA.

"But of course we also condemn what happened there. It could probably have turned out much worse."

Topics: SPORT, Euro 2020, Protest

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. She spent a few years working on festivals and events before joining LADbible. In her spare time, Amelia likes music and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward