Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Reacting to a bottle-snatching trend at the European Championship started by Cristiano Ronaldo, players on the 24 teams have been asked to stop removing strategically placed sponsor drinks from the news conference platforms, UEFA said Thursday.
Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Manuel Locatelli all removed sponsor bottles away from the view of cameras when taking their seats at official media sessions this week.
Euro 2020 tournament director Martin Kallen said UEFA has “communicated with the teams regarding this matter.”
“It is important because the revenues of the sponsors are important for the tournament and for European football,” Kallen said in a briefing.
Pogba, who is Muslim and does not drink alcohol, objected to the distinctive green bottle of official Euro 2020 beer sponsor Heineken. The beer is marketed as 0.0% alcohol.
Kallen said tournament rules require compliance with UEFA's promises to sponsors, though players with religious objections “don't need to have a bottle there.” Media managers at each of the 11 stadiums across Europe should also help with removing beer bottles ahead of the arrival of a player of Muslim faith.
Pogba had to take questions in the interview room after being named best player in France's 1-0 win over Germany on Tuesday. The player awards are sponsored by the brewer.
Ronaldo started the trend on Monday at a mandatory pre-game news conference by hiding two Coca-Cola bottles and replacing them with a water bottle, which was also one of the drink maker's brands.
A drop in Coca-Cola's share price this week was attributed by some to Ronaldo's snub, but without any evidence that the two things were connected.
Locatelli copied the Portugal great on Wednesday after helping Italy beat Switzerland.
It prompted UEFA to remind officials with the teams that players should respect the sponsors and the contributions they make to European soccer.
While UEFA will not impose fines on individual players, Kallen said it was “always a possibility” that national federations get a financial penalty for further incidents.
The issue is a source of comedy for other teams.
Scotland midfielder John McGinn quipped “No Coke?” because there were no bottles in the squad's training base interview room, and Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said after a 2-1 victory over Denmark on Thursday that his team loves the drink.
Coca-Cola is an official sponsor of the Belgian soccer federation.
All 24 teams will get some of the money paid by Coca-Cola, Heineken and 10 other top-tier sponsors that contribute to UEFA's total tournament revenue of almost 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion).
The values of individual sponsor deals are not published, but UEFA got 483 million euros ($576 million) in sponsor deals from 10 partners at Euro 2016 in France.
Players also indirectly get money from Euro 2020 commercial income via their national federations and clubs.
The 24 national federations will share 371 million euros ($442 million) in UEFA prize money, which typically helps pay player bonuses. The champions can get a maximum of 34 million euros ($40.6 million) from UEFA by also winning all three of their group games.
Hundreds of clubs worldwide also get shares from at least 200 million euros ($239 million) allocated by UEFA from Euro 2020 revenue as a reward for releasing their players to European national teams. Of that money, 130 million euros ($155 million) is allocated on a daily rate for about 630 players taking part in the final tournament.
Euro 2020 revenue will also fund 775 million euros ($925 million) UEFA has promised to its 55 member federations in annual grants and development project funds for the period of 2020-24.
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.