Poland and Ukraine's bid was chosen by the UEFA Executive Committee on 18 April 2007.[2] The two host teams qualified automatically while the remaining 14 finalists were decided through aqualifying competition, featuring 51 teams, from August 2010 to November 2011. This was the last European Championship to employ the 16-team finals format in use since1996; fromEuro 2016 onward, it was expanded to 24 finalists.
Euro 2012 was played at eight venues, four in each host country. Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and the hosts invested heavily in improving infrastructure such as railways and roads at UEFA's request. Euro 2012 set attendance records for the 16-team format, for the highest aggregate attendance (1,440,896) and average per game (46,481).
Spain became the first and to date only team to win two consecutive European Championships, and also three straight major tournaments (Euro 2008,2010 World Cup and Euro 2012).[3] Spain had already gained entry to the2013 Confederations Cup by winning the World Cup, so runners-upItaly qualified instead. As atEuro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, both 2012 host nations were eliminated in the group stage.
There were several players ending on a total of 3 goals but becauseFernando Torres made an assist and played the fewest minutes of the players who scored three goals, he was named as the Golden Boot winner for the tournament.
The hosting of the event was initially contested by five bids representing seven countries: Croatia–Hungary, Greece, Italy, Poland–Ukraine, and Turkey.[4] In November 2005, after an initial consideration of the bid data by UEFA, both the Greek and Turkish bids were eliminated from the process, to leave three candidates.[5]
In May 2006, this was followed by a second round of the selection process, which included visits by UEFA to all candidates.[6] The final decision was due to be announced on 8 December 2006 inNyon, but this was postponed to "give bidding associations more time for the fine-tuning of their bids".[7] On 18 April 2007, the Poland–Ukraine bid was chosen by a vote of the UEFA Executive Committee, at a meeting inCardiff.[2] It was the first time UEFA awarded the tournament organization to the formerEastern Bloc sinceYugoslavia in1976.[8]
Poland–Ukraine became the third successful joint bid for the European Championship, after those of Belgium–Netherlands (2000) and Austria–Switzerland (2008). Their bid received anabsolute majority of votes, and was therefore announced the winner, without requiring a second round. Italy, which received the remaining votes,[2] had been considered favourites to win the hosting, but incidents of fan violence anda match-fixing scandal were widely cited as factors behind their failure.[9][10][11]
There were some later alterations from the initial bid plan, regarding the venues, before UEFA confirmed the eight host cities in 2009.[12][13] During the preparation process in Poland and Ukraine,UEFA repeatedly expressed concern about their preparation to host the event, with different candidates reported as being alternative hosts if they did not improve;[14][15] however, in the end, UEFA affirmed their selection.[16]
The draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying competition took place in Warsaw on 7 February 2010.[17] Fifty-one teams entered to compete for the fourteen remaining places in the finals, alongside co-hostsPoland andUkraine. The teams were divided into nine groups, with the draw using thenew UEFA national team coefficient for the first time in order to determine the seedings. As defending champions,Spain was automatically top-seeded. The qualifying process began in August 2010 and concluded in November 2011. At the conclusion of the qualifying group stage in October 2011, the nine group winners qualified automatically, along with the highest ranked second placed team. The remaining eight second-placed teams contested two-legged play-offs, and the four winners qualified for the finals.[18]
Twelve of the sixteen finalists participated atthe previous tournament in 2008.England andDenmark made their return to the Euro after missing out on 2008, whileRepublic of Ireland returned after a twenty-four-year absence to make their second appearance at a European Championship. One of the co-hosts,Ukraine, made their debut as an independent nation (before 1992 Ukraine participated as part of theSoviet Union). With the exception ofSerbia – according to UEFA's ranking at the end of the qualifying stage – Europe's sixteen highest-ranked teams all qualified for the tournament.
As of2024, this was the last time Greece qualified for the European Championship finals, and the last time Austria,Belgium,Hungary,Slovakia, Switzerland andTurkey failed to qualify.
The draw for the final tournament took place on 2 December 2011 at theUkraine Palace of Arts inKyiv, Ukraine.[20][21] The hour-long ceremony was hosted byOlha Freimut and Piotr Sobczyński, television presenters from the two host countries.
As was the case for the 2000, 2004 and 2008 finals, the sixteen finalists were divided into four seeding pots, using theUEFA national team coefficient ranking.[22] The pot allocations were based on the UEFA national team coefficient rankings of the sixteen finalists at the end of the qualifying competition in November 2011.[23] Each nation's coefficient was generated by calculating:
Aside from the coefficient, three teams were automatically placed in Pot 1.Ukraine andPoland were both assigned to Pot 1 as the two host nations, despite the fact that their rankings were the two lowest in the tournament; this also occurred in2008 when the co-hostsSwitzerland andAustria were also ranked below all other qualified teams. As defending champions,Spain were also automatically assigned to Pot 1, though their UEFA ranking at the time of the draw was coincidentally also the best.
In the draw procedure, one team from each pot was drawn into each of the four groups. The draw also determined which place in the group teams in pots 2–4 would take (e.g. A2, A3 or A4) to create the match schedule. With Poland automatically assigned in advance to A1, and Ukraine to D1, Pot 1 only had two teams as Spain and the Netherlands were to be drawn into position one in either group B or C.[22][24] The balls were drawn by four former players who had each been part of European Championship winning teams:Horst Hrubesch,Marco van Basten,Peter Schmeichel andZinedine Zidane.[25]
Automatically selected as a top-seeded team into pot 1, irrespective of their ranking position.
^Co-hosts Poland (coefficient 23,806; rank 28th) and Ukraine (coefficient 28,029; rank 15th) belonged to Pot 1 irrespective of their ranking position. Ahead of the draw, they were removed as drawing options from Pot 1, and instead automatically assigned to Group position A1 and D1 respectively.
^Defending champions Spain (coefficient 43,116; rank 1st) were automatically assigned to Pot 1, and could be drawn into either Group position B1 or C1.
Teams were drawn consecutively into Group A to D. First, the Pot 1 teams were assigned to the first positions of their groups, while next the positions of all other teams were drawn separately from Pot 4 to 2 (for the purposes of determining the match schedules in each group).
Eight cities were selected by UEFA as host venues. In a return to the format used atEuro 1992,Euro 1996 andEuro 2008, each of the four groups' matches were played in two stadiums. Host citiesWarsaw,Gdańsk,Wrocław,Poznań,Kyiv, andLviv are all popular tourist destinations, unlikeDonetsk andKharkiv, the latter of which replacedDnipropetrovsk as a host city in 2009.[26]
In order to meet UEFA's requirement for football infrastructure improvements, five new stadiums were built and opened in advance of the tournament. The remaining three stadiums (in Kyiv, Poznań and Kharkiv) underwent major renovations in order to meet UEFA's infrastructure standards.[27][28] Three of the stadiums are categorised asUEFA's highest category stadiums. The transport infrastructure inPoland andUkraine was also extensively modified on the request of UEFA to cope with the large influx of football fans.[29]
UEFA organised fan zones in the eight host cities. They were located in the centre of each city, with all 31 matches shown live on a total of 24 giant screens. The zones enabled supporters to come together in a secure and controlled environment. The Warsaw Fan Zone occupied 120,000 square meters and accommodated 100,000 visitors. In all, the fans zones had a 20% increase in capacity compared to Euro 2008.[30]
A total of 31 matches were played during Euro 2012, with Ukraine hosting 16 of them and Poland 15.
Tickets for the venues were sold directly by UEFA via its website, or distributed by the football associations of the 16 finalists. Applications had to be made during March 2011 for the 1.4 million tickets available for the 31 tournament matches.[31] Over 20,000 were forecast to cross the Poland–Ukraine border each day during the tournament.[32] Over 12 million applications were received, which represented a 17% increase on the 2008 finals, and an all-time record for the UEFA European Championship.[33] Owing to this over-subscription for the matches, lotteries were carried out to allocate tickets. Prices varied from €30 (£25) (for a seat behind the goals at a group match) to €600 (£513) (for a seat in the main stand at the final). In addition to individual match tickets, fans could buy packages to see either all matches played by one team, or all matches at one specific venue.[34]
Each team had a "team base camp" for its stay between the matches. From an initial list of thirty-eight potential locations (twenty-one in Poland, seventeen in Ukraine),[35] the national associations chose their locations in 2011. The teams trained and resided in these locations throughout the tournament, travelling to games staged away from their bases.[36] Thirteen teams stayed in Poland and three in Ukraine.[36]
The Adidas Tango 12 was the official match ball of UEFA Euro 2012.[37] The ball is named after the originalAdidas Tango family of footballs; however, the Tango 12 and its variations have a completely new design. Variations of the ball have been used in other contemporary competitions including theAfrica Cup of Nations and theSummer Olympics. It is designed to be easier to dribble and control than the reportedly unpredictableAdidas Jabulani used at the2010 FIFA World Cup.[38]
Each national team had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers, at least ten days before the opening match of the tournament. If a player became injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation in the tournament before his team's first match, he would be replaced by another player.[39]
On 20 December 2011, UEFA named twelvereferees and fourfourth officials for Euro 2012.[40] On 27 March 2012, UEFA issued the full list of 80 referees to be used in Euro 2012, including the assistant referees, the additional assistant referees, and the four reserve assistant referees.[41] Each refereeing team consisted of five match officials from the same country: one main referee, twoassistant referees, and twoadditional assistant referees. All of the main referees, additional assistant referees, and fourth officials were FIFA referees, and the assistant referees (including the four reserve assistant referees) were FIFA assistant referees.[42][43] For each refereeing team, a third assistant referee from each country was named to remain on standby until the start of the tournament to take the place of a colleague if required.[43] In two cases, for the French and Slovenian refereeing teams, the standby assistant referees took the place of one of the assistant referees before the start of the tournament. Continuing the experiments carried out in theUEFA Champions League andUEFA Europa League, the two additional assistant referees were used on the goal line for the first time in European Championship history with approval from theInternational Football Association Board.[40]
UEFA announced the schedule for the 31 matches of the final tournament in October 2010,[44] with the final confirmation of kick-offs times being affirmed following the tournament draw in December 2011.[45]
The teams finishing in the top two positions in each of the four groups progressed to the quarter-finals, while the bottom two teams were eliminated from the tournament.
If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:[39][46]
Higher number of points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
Superior goal difference resulting from the matches played between the teams in question;
Higher number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
If, after having applied criteria 1 to 3, teams still had an equal ranking (e.g. if criteria 1 to 3 were applied to three teams that were level on points initially and these criteria separated one team from the other two who still have an equal ranking), criteria 1 to 3 would be reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams who were still level to determine their final rankings. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 would apply;
Superior goal difference in all group matches;
Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
Fair play conduct of the teams (final tournament);
Drawing of lots.
However, the normal tiebreaking criteria does not apply if on the last round of group stage, two teams are playing against each other tied on points, goal difference, goals scored, and goals conceded, then drew their match and no other teams are tied on points; in that case their ranking is determined bypenalty shoot-out.
The UEFA Technical Team was charged with naming a squad composed of the 23 best players over the course of the tournament.[80] The group of eleven analysts watched every game at the tournament before making their decision after the final. Ten players from the winning Spanish team were selected in the team of the tournament, whileZlatan Ibrahimović was the only player to be included whose team was knocked out in the group stage.[80][81]
Fernando Torres tied with five other players on goals and withMario Gómez on goals and assists; however, he played 92 fewer minutes than Gómez did, thus earning the title. Torres also became the first player to score in two finals.[3]
A total of€196 million was given to the 16 teams competing in this tournament, an increase from the €184 million in theprevious tournament. Each team received an initial €8 million and then received additional money, based on their performances.[84] Spain, the winners of Euro 2012, were awarded a total prize of €23 million for their performance.[85] The maximum prize achievable (for winning all group matches and winning the final) was €23.5 million.
Besides money, commemorative plaques were given to all participants together with special plaques for semi-final losers and finalists.Gold and silver medals were awarded to the winners and runners-up, respectively, whereas both semi-final losers were awarded bronze medals. The trophy given to the winners remains in the ownership of UEFA; however, the winning nation, Spain, received a full-size replica.[39]
In the final tournament, a player was suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting red card or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches. UEFA's Control and Disciplinary body has the ability to increase the automatic one match ban for a red card (e.g. for violent conduct). Single yellow card cautions were erased at the conclusion of the quarter-finals, and were not carried over to the semi-finals (so that a player could only be suspended for the final by getting a red card in the semi-final). Single yellow cards and suspensions for yellow card accumulations do not carry over to the2014 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament matches.[39] The following players were suspended during the final tournament – for one or more games – as a result of red cards or yellow card accumulations:
Apart from discipline measures for yellow and red cards, UEFA fined the football associations ofCroatia,[86][87]England,[88]Germany,[89]Portugal,Russia,[90][91][92] andSpain a total of €417,000 for spectators incidents.[93][94][95] Furthermore, the Portuguese association was fined €5,000 for delaying the start of the second half of the game against Germany.[94] In addition to these, Danish strikerNicklas Bendtner was fined €100,000 and given a one match ban (to be applied in the2014 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament) for revealing hissponsored underpants, violating UEFA regulations, during the celebration of his second goal in the match against Portugal.[96] His fine was later paid by his sponsor.[97]
TheHenri Delaunay Trophy began a journey through the host cities seven weeks before the start of the tournament. A hundred days before the first match a 35.5-metre-high (116 ft) hot air balloon in the shape of the trophy was flown inNyon,Switzerland and visited 14 cities throughout the host countries, reminding spectators of the impending tournament. On 20 April 2012, the trophy tour started and visited the Polish cities of Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Poznań, Kraków, Katowice and Łódź. After the Polish cities, the trophy visited seven Ukrainian cities: Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, and Odesa.[98][99]
The competition slogan,Creating History Together (Polish:Razem tworzymy przyszłość, literally, "Together we are creating the future",Ukrainian:Творимо історію разом,Tvorymo istoriyu razom), was announced along with the logo. The official logo for the tournament was unveiled at a special event at Mykhailivska Square, Kyiv, on 14 December 2009 and was designed by Portuguese group Brandia Central.[100] It took its visual identity fromWycinanki or Vytynanky, a traditional form of paper cutting practised in rural areas of Poland and Ukraine. The art form symbolises the nature of the rural areas of both countries.[101][102] As part of the event, landmark buildings in the eight host cities were illuminated with the tournament logo.[103]
UEFA signed a worldwide licensing agreement withWarner Brothers Consumer Products to help promote the tournament.[111] The agreement involved licensing to third parties for a variety of other merchandising items.
Also designed by Warner Bros. were the official tournamentmascots, "Slavek and Slavko", twins that wore thenational colours of the two host nations. The mascots were unveiled in December 2010,[112] and named following an online poll.[113]
UEFA announced ten global sponsors and, for both Poland and Ukraine, three national sponsors as shown below.[115] These sponsorships together with the broadcasting revenues were estimated to earn UEFA at least US$1.6 billion.[116]
According to UEFA requirements, TP ensured approximately 2х70 Gbit/s data communication speed from Polish stadiums and 2х140 Gbit/s between Poland and Ukraine. This was required due to the fact that the matches were broadcast inHD quality.[127] The multilateral production utilised 31cameras to cover the action on and around the pitch at every match, with additional cameras following activities around the game, such as team arrivals at the stadiums, interviews, and media conferences.[128] The official Euro 2012 broadcasting centre was located at the Expo XXI International Centre inWarsaw.[127] The tournament was broadcast live byaround 100 TV channels covering the whole world.[129] 150,000,000 people were expected to watch the matches each day.[130]
Police in Warsaw before the match between Poland and Russia
After Poland and Ukraine were chosen by a vote of the UEFA Executive Committee as host countries for Euro 2012, several issues arose, which jeopardised the Polish/Ukrainian host status.
In Ukraine, the stadium and infrastructure renovation incurred financial difficulties due to the2008 financial crisis.[131] In Poland, issues arose related to corruption within thePolish Football Association.[132] In April 2009 however, the president of UEFA,Michel Platini announced that all was on track and that he saw no major problems. After a UEFA delegation visited Ukraine in September 2011, he stated the country was "virtually ready for Euro 2012".[133]
In the UK, there were allegations of racism in football in both host countries. The main cause of discussion was theBBCcurrent affairs programmePanorama, entitledEuro 2012: Stadiums of Hate, which included recent footage of supporters chanting various antisemitic slogans and displays ofwhite power symbols and banners in Poland, plus Nazi salutes and the beating of South Asians in Ukraine.[134] The documentary was first echoed in much of the British press, but was then attacked for being one-sided and unethical: critics included other British media outlets; anti-racism campaigners, black and Jewish community leaders in Poland; Polish and Ukrainian politicians and journalists; England fans visiting the host nations andGary Lineker, a British football star.[135][136][137][138]
In response toYulia Tymoshenko's hunger strike and her mistreatment in a Ukrainian prison some European politicians and governments announced that they would boycott the matches in Ukraine.[139][140]
Ukraine came under criticism from animal welfare organisations for killing stray cats and dogs in order to prepare for Euro 2012.[141] Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and Minister of the Environment promised to take action to prevent killing animals but it still remains unclear how these measures were enforced.[142] The ministry's comments also suggested this would only be a temporary measure, drawing further criticism.[143][144][145]
Bomb explosions took place inDnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, on 27 April 2012 and were described as a terrorist attack that may jeopardise the organisation of the tournament in Ukraine.[146]
^The match, originally scheduled for 21:45 local time, was delayed 15 minutes to prevent overlap with the other Group D match between Ukraine and France, which had been delayed due to rain.[68]
^ab"Fines for DFB, FPF".UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 14 June 2012. Archived fromthe original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved19 June 2012.
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