Uefa refuse venue switch

Uefa insist Charleroi will stage the game

Uefa have refused to switch England's Euro 2000 clash with Germany from Charleroi to Brussels despite fears over safety.

European football chiefs, backed up by the European Parliament, turned down an appeal headed by British MEP Chris Heaton-Harris to change the venue for the Group A game on 17 June.

In a brief statement, Uefa said: "In response to the large numbers of enquiries addressed to the Uefa press department, Uefa would like to stress that there are no plans to change the fixture list for the final phase of the European Championship."

"This means that, even though the venue for the match between England and Germany may be cause for debate, the game remains scheduled for 8.45pm on 17 June at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi."

The appeal by Heaton-Harris and his fellow Conservative members Roy Perry and the Earl of Stockton was also formally rejected in the European Parliament, their motion falling by 181 votes to 29 in the Strasbourg assembly.

Unsafe

Several security experts have questioned the wisdom of staging the group game in the small Belgian town given the possibility of violence between English and German fans.

Concerns have also been voiced over the large Turkish population in the town, given recent trouble between English and Turkish fans.

England are scheduled to play Romania there as well just three days after the Germany game, and the stadium in Charleroi, with a capacity of only 30,000, has been criticised as unsafe and unsuitable for such high-profile encounters.