Russian football fans may get free ride to Euro 2012
It looks like Russian football fans will be getting a break later this year when the European Championships (Euro 2012) take place in Ukraine and Poland. This is because two of the nation’s biggest airlines, Transaero and Aeroflot, said they were willing to offer free flights for fans of Russia’s national football team. The two airlines made the announcement on Jan. 23 and said if Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gives his approval they’d help out with free trips for supporters. This is the big sporting event in Europe this year and Euro 2012 betting will be the main wagering action this summer so look back to this site for more tips.
The idea came about a week earlier when FIFA president and UEFA president Michel Platini met in the historic Russian city of Saint Petersburg. Putin told the two football bosses that he had met with some of the country’s supporters groups and they told him that they wouldn’t be able to go to Poland and Ukraine to cheer on their team because they simply couldn’t afford the sky-high air fares that were being charged.
The Prime Minister then contacted Transaero and Aeroflot to see if anything could be done about the prices and the two airlines said they’d be willing to fly fans over for free for the tournament which takes place from June 8 to July 1. This came as a big surprise to many Russians since the airlines could have simply lowered the prices. However, Russian fans shouldn’t count their chickens before they hatch since nothing’s been set in stone as of yet and the idea is just being floated around.
A spokesperson for Transaero said that the company that supplies fuel to its fleet of planes, Gazpromneft-Aero Company, has said that it would provide the fuel to fly fans to Kiev, Ukraine. Aeroflot jumped on the bandwagon and agreed to do the same. However, the number of trips they’re willing to cover and the amount of passengers that will be eligible hasn’t been determined.
In addition, supplying fuel to Kiev isn’t going to do the fans much good in the group stage since all of Russia’s Group A games in the opening round will be played in Poland. They kick off their tournament on June 8 against the Czech Republic in the city of Wroclaw, and then take on Poland on June 12 in Warsaw and wrap up their group matches on June 16 against in Warsaw.
If they can advance from the group stage there’s a chance they could play in Ukraine in the playoff rounds, depending on where they end up in their group. All sportsbooks listed here will accept bets on the Euro Cup matches. The Euro 2012 Final will take place in Kiev, but most fans, including Russians, would be surprised if their team makes it that far.
