- German police are making it difficult to issue credentials to journalists for ridiculous reasons
- Trains regularly run with delays, and German Railways is selling seats in non-existent carriages online
- The European Championship begins on Friday with the match between Germany and Scotland in Munich
- You can find more interesting stories in Przegląd Sportowy Onet
Maciej Kaliszczuk from Germany
Germany is known for its love of order and good organization, but during the European Championships the system can take on ridiculous proportions, while the latter is different.
Continued article below the video
Journalists who could not obtain accreditation were convinced of this because they entered only one name into the UEFA system and two names in their identity card or passport. Of course, no one told them beforehand that they also had to enter their middle name, which no one uses every day. They have been able to get one name into the system for years and so far there has been no problem with it, they have gotten accredited without any problems.
Meanwhile, the German police suddenly decided that the accreditation should contain exactly the same data as the document used by a particular media representative. There were problems not only with middle names, but also with Polish letters in these names or surnames, if someone entered data in the English version into the system. Journalists from countries with characters other than English have faced similar problems.
Admiration for Jakub Piotrowski
When I heard about the problems my colleagues were having, I tried to edit my information in the system, but the only thing I could change there myself was my gender. Another thing is that when someone changes it, they also change their name, and sometimes their surname.
So I went to Berlin and combined that with a visit to an open training session for the Austrians (credits can only be collected in the cities where Euro 2024 matches are being played), but there I learned that I would not get credit that day. The German police must check whether the person applying for accreditation is the same person in the system. It is true that they look similar, and they also have the ID card number, PESEL number and date of birth in common, but you must make sure that it is not a lookalike who also falsified the data, and this cannot be done immediately.
I did not receive the accreditation, but at least I spoke with the nice Bulgarian who issued it about the Polish national team’s chances in the Euros, and my interlocutor talked about Jakub Piotrowski who is making a lot of noise in the domestic league while playing for Ludogorets Razgrad, but the other thing is that he is not very strong.
It was the same with other journalists who were also unable to obtain accreditation for this reason. However, the next day I received information from UEFA that the data in the system had been changed. I hope I can put together this document on Friday in Munich, the day of the opening match.
This is very important. Firstly, it gives you the right to participate in matches (but only for those for which you have received an additional ticket), which is of course extremely important, but also other rights – the ability to buy train tickets at a lower price, travel for free on the day of the match in a particular city, entry to Training of Euro participants (although I entered the Dutch training with minor problems, showing my accreditation email, and for the training of the Austrians I simply received a ticket like a fan).
Delay at every step
And this is not the only manifestation of regulatory inconvenience. While accreditation issues don’t concern fans, train problems could affect them as well.
Verspätung – This German word reminds me of this tournament. Indicates a delay. I hear it all the time in train stations and the only difference is the number of minutes. Almost all trains experience more or less delays, although Germany is famous for its punctuality. We were very lucky that in Berlin, where we changed trains on our way to Hanover, the delay was “only” 40 minutes. Some arrived in the city where the Poles had their base a few hours later than scheduled. It seems that this is all due to the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the German capital. This must have affected transport in Berlin, but as it turned out, it also affected trains on longer routes.
However, in some cases, German Railways warns in advance that delays are expected due to damage to tracks after storms.
Places – Ghost on trains
Another strange issue is the numbering of seats on trains. Twice I was assigned a seat in a non-existent carriage. There is simply no carriage with this number on the train. All I can do is sit anywhere and hope that the rightful “owner” of the place doesn’t kick me out.
But the most important thing is that we have now arrived at our destination and can eagerly await the whistle of the opening match (Germany vs Scotland on Friday at 9pm), and then the Polish matches.
source:Onet Sports Review
Date of creation: 13 June 2024 at 15:35
Journalist for the newspaper Przeglad Sportuy One
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