EM 2024 - Netherlands miss press conference due to rail travel chaos
Once again, the notoriously unreliable German Railways disrupted the EM schedule. Due to a "significant delay" in the journey from the team quarters in Wolfsburg to the venue in Dortmund, the Netherlands team's final press conference before the EURO semi-final against England was abruptly cancelled.
The Netherlands takes the plane instead
Since the train scheduled for the afternoon had such a large delay due to a track obstruction, the Dutch team eventually took a flight in the evening. According to the newspaper "Algemeen Dagblad," the team was informed by the tournament organizers that there was no traffic possible on an alternative train route because a train had hit an animal there. The press conference was scheduled for 19.45 hours.
England's national coach Gareth Southgate took the situation calmly. "We will remain calm in such a situation. The game is only tomorrow at 9 pm, there is still enough time. You will surely still get evening meals. That won't have any impact on the game," Southgate said, with his English team arriving punctually from their camp in Blankenhain.
Standard Uefa-Procedure
The press conference with the coach and a player is part of the standard procedure for major tournaments by Uefa and Fifa. Uefa announced that journalists would be given access to interview footage with Chief Coach Koeman instead. The match takes place on Wednesday at 9 pm. It will be shown on ARD and MagentaTV and can also be followed in the stern-Liveticker.
- The Netherlands' journey from Wolfsburg to Dortmund for their press conference against England was disrupted by German Railways, with a significant delay caused by a track obstruction.
- Gareth Southgate, England's national coach, handled the situation calmly, acknowledging that the delay would not affect their game the following day at 9 pm.
- Due to the disruption, the Netherlands switched to a flight, while England arrived punctually from their camp in Blankenhain.
- As a result of the cancelled press conference, UEFA followed its standard procedure and provided journalists with interview footage of coach Koeman instead.
