Television coverage of Wednesday's dramatic
Euro semi-final clash between Germany and Turkey was interrupted world- wide as
a signal-feed from the International Broadcasting Centre in Vienna broke down.
UEFA said in a statement that the signal was interrupted several times
due to technical reasons in the second half, when Germany staged a dramatic
come-back to win 3-2 with a last-minute goal.
The reasons are being investigated, in particular to evaluate the impact of the
violent electrical storm over Vienna at that time, UEFA said.
The only TV stations worldwide that were able to show pictures were Al-Jazeera
and Swiss television, a UEFA spokesman said.
For the first time in the history of the competition, UEFA themselves are
responsible for the production of the TV signal.
The storm over Vienna also led to journalists working in the International
Media Centre in Vienna being told to evacuate the building as officials were
worried that it would not withstand a second storm which was being predicted
for later Wednesday.
The building is said to be able to withstand winds of 120 kilometres per hour, but officials were concerned that the storm could be stronger, dpa reported.