Giancarlo Abete: Euro 2016 matches could be played behind closed doors

Matches at Euro 2016 could be played behind closed doors due to the threat of terror attacks, says UEFA executive committee vice-president Giancarlo Abete.

Abete was speaking in reaction to the blasts in Brussels on Tuesday which, according to latest figures, have killed 34 people and injured over a hundred more.

UEFA released a statement in which it "reaffirmed its commitment in placing safety and security at the centre of its organisational plans for Euro 2016", but Abete, a former president of the FIGC (Italian Football Association), believes more drastic measures may have to be implemented.

He told Radio 24: "Euro 2016 is the kind of event we can't delay or postpone.

"We can't exclude the possibility of playing behind closed doors as we cannot exclude terrorism. If we talked about potentially cancellable games such as a friendly or a competitive match that could be moved to another date, obviously this would not be the case.

"When a tournament is being held instead, each of those dates are scheduled in order to make the tournament happen. Otherwise the tournament would not go on. It seems to me that nowadays, because of the emergencies, priorities are different.

"We are talking about events which already had a negative impact on the Euros because the risk perception is already there and there is less excitement about getting involved from those who wanted to join in a joyous mood.

"But we are talking about games which are staged for June, where as today we are going through about a very urgent emergency."

The Euro 2016 final is scheduled for July 10 at the Stade de France, one of the venues targeted by terrorists in the Paris atrocities in November 2015 on the night of France's game against world champions Germany.

Over 130 people were killed in a coordinated attack across the French capital with Germany's game against Netherlands in Hannover cancelled three days later over fears of further terrorist activity.