LONDON: Polish and Ukrainian organisers of the Euro 2012 finals in June have missed a significant public relations trick by refusing to copy a travel concession which proved signficant in both the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.

The World Cup in Germany and European finals two years later in Austria and Switzerland saw local transportation authorities grant free inter-city rail travel to accredited media during the tournaments. This played well in terms of media reaction to their temporary hosts but will not be repeated this time around.

Officials of the European federation UEFA had discussed repeating the provision but this was ultimately beyond the European federation’s control and could well result in some media outlets revising their Euro 2012 coverage plans.

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