UEFA calls on the British government to ease its anti-Covid restrictions so that 2,500 officials can attend the Euro final without going through the isolation box. In case of refusal, the meeting scheduled for July 11 could take place in Hungary.
Euro 2021 kicked off just a week ago, and no one knows how or where it will end. Friday the Times says UEFA is threatening the English government to move the normally scheduled final to Wembley, unless Wembley grants a quarantine exemption to the 2,500 VIP officials expected to travel to the UK on Sunday 11 July.
Visibly dissatisfied with the anti-Covid restrictions and the current quarantine obligation when entering the territory of the Channel in the face of the push from the Delta variant, the European football body, in charge of the organization of the ‘Euro, would consider several scenarios if the host city were still subject to these restrictions which could prevent fans, officials, sponsors, and invited companies from attending the final.
Among these options: moving the final to Budapest, where the epidemic situation is not really better, but where the Hungarian health system is much more flexible. The Puskas stadium will already be running at almost full capacity when the France team receives this Saturday afternoon.
In response, UEFA issued a statement on Friday saying it hopes to achieve a “Satisfactory conclusion” with the British government. “We understand the pressures the government is facing and hope to be able to reach a satisfactory conclusion to our discussions on the issue”, further points out UEFA.
According to Times, UK ministers are currently discussing a proposal to exempt UEFA and Fifa officials, politicians, sponsors and broadcasters from going through the isolation box.
UK government deadlocked
This last minute blackmail is embarrassing the British executive. If he responds in the affirmative to UEFA’s injunctions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a backlash from a large part of the population, as the country faces a resurgence of the epidemic , forcing to push back the total deconfinement. After several weeks of improvement, the country is recording an increase in contamination, with more than 11,000 cases recorded in the last twenty-four hours, a level that had not been reached since last February.
Nearly 2,500 VIPs could thus disembark in the United Kingdom without any real health control, with all the risks that this implies. If Bojo decided to stick to his positions, the snub would be enormous for England, the cradle of football which dreams of winning at home, fifty-five years after its only international title (the 1966 World Cup).
For UEFA, this is another incredible episode in the organization of this 2020 edition, postponed to 2021 due to Covid. Initially, the competition was to be held in thirteen cities in Europe and as many countries, with England hosting the tournament’s semi-final and final at Wembley. The Euro of thirteen finally became a Euro of eleven, after several defections for lack of sufficient guarantees to welcome spectators due to the Covid.
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