UEFA has turned down a request from the mayor of Munich that the city's stadium be lit with rainbow colors for the Euro 2020 match between Germany and Hungary on Wednesday.
Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter has said he wants to light up stadiums in Hungary in protest against a new law that bans the dissemination of material in schools promoting homosexuality and gender change.
The Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Munich, is configured to allow the entire outdoor area and terrace to be illuminated in different colours.
In response to UEFA's decision, several Bundesliga clubs - including Wolfsburg, Hertha Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and Cologne - have said they will light up their stadiums during games.
France and Barcelona striker Antoine Griezmann posted a photo of the Allianz Arena on Twitter, lit up in rainbow colors with fists and rainbow emoji.
UEFA in a statement suggested alternate dates for gestures during the tournament.
"UEFA, through its statutes, is a politically and religiously neutral organization. Given the political context of this specific request - a message aimed at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament - UEFA should reject this request ,” the organization said in a statement on Tuesday.
"UEFA nevertheless proposes the city of Munich to illuminate the stadium with rainbow colors between June 28 - Christopher Street Liberation Day - or July 3 to 9, which is Christopher Street Day week in Munich."
Unsere Volkswagen Arena morgen Abend! 🌈#VfLWolfsburg pic.twitter.com/IJfgg41HiX
— VfL Wolfsburg (@VfL_Wolfsburg) June 22, 2021
Christopher Street Day events are held to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion of the gay community in New York in 1969.
German Europe Minister Michael Roth told reporters ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg on Tuesday that Hungary's new law clearly violates EU values.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Sizzarto said on Monday that "mixing politics and sport" was "harmful and dangerous" and welcomed UEFA's decision.
"Thank God that in the circles of European football leadership, common sense still prevails and they did not play with political provocation," he said.
"I think, no, I can say that the UEFA leadership made the right decision when they decided not to play against Hungary with political provocation."
UEFA said it was involved in several campaigns of diversity and inclusion "to promote the ethos that football should be open to all."
The decision comes two days after UEFA said Germany captain Manuel Neuer and the German Football Association (DFB) would not face any disciplinary action for wearing rainbow armbands during the tournament.
To show DFB's support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month, Neuer, 35, wore an armband against France and Portugal.
UEFA was investigating whether it violated its rules by not allowing athletes to make political statements. But UEFA said in a statement on Sunday that Neuer was "promoting a good cause" and opted to take further action.
Hungary is still under investigation by the governing body over "potentially discriminatory incidents" during their games against Portugal and France at Budapest's Puskas Arena.
During Hungary's opening match against Portugal on Tuesday, images on social media showed banners with "anti-LMBTQ" on them – the Hungarian abbreviation for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer.