THE Euro 2020 finals will not be held at Wembley unless the UK Government hands 2500 UEFA VIPs exemptions from the UK’s coronavirus quarantine rules, according to reports.
According to The Times, top Tories are discussing plans to exempt officials and important corporate guests from quarantine rules after UEFA threatened to move the final game of the tournament from London to Budapest.
The Euro 2020 tournament is being held in 11 cities across the continent, including the Hungarian and English capitals, Glasgow, Rome, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam. London’s Wembley is due to host the semi-finals, and the final itself on July 11.
All of the teams playing in the championships, other than the home nations, are from countries currently on the UK’s “amber” or “red” travel lists, meaning a ten-day isolation period is required on entry.
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If ministers decide to grant the exemption, 2500 UEFA and FIFA officials, politicians, sponsors and broadcasters will be able to avoid quarantine rules.
They will be able to attend games in the knock-out stages of the competition, meetings, and training sessions without restrictions.
The Tories are reportedly very keen on granting the exemptions and hosting the final games in England as it would help Boris Johnson in his bid to have the UK host the 2030 World Cup.
Furthermore,England missed out on hosting the Champions League final, which was relocated from Istanbul to Porto in Portugal, despite both the teams in that match being English.
The news comes as Scotland’s national men’s team heads to the 90,000-capacity Wembley stadium for their historic match against England.
While England won their first game, Scotland lost out to the Czech Republic, meaning tonight’s result will be key to their tournament campaign. Kick-off is at 8pm.
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