Portugal, a country easing its last phase of lockdown, has been named on the “green list” by the British government from May 17 onwards, which may allow the supporters of the two English fans to attend the game.
On Friday, the United Kingdom government placed Turkey on the “red list” for travellers – cancelling UEFA’s plans to distribute a minimum of 4,000 tickets for each finalist at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. The U.K. government initially offered to host the all-English final at Wembley Stadium in London, but the deal broke down over the problems of exemptions for sponsors, media and the support staff, arriving from numerous destinations.
On Wednesday, the Portuguese Primeira Liga also announced that spectators would be allowed into the stadiums for the final matchday on May 19. But the number would be limited to just 10 per cent of the ground’s capacity, and fans attending the game will have to produce a negative COVID-19 report before entering.
Porto’s Estadio do Dragao is scheduled to be named as the venue. The stadium has a capacity of 50,033 and by UEFA’s plan, around 20,000 fans would be allowed with about 4,000-6,000 tickets per club.
Meanwhile, Istanbul was due to host the biggest game in European club competition in 2020, but the alarming surge of COVID-19 cases saw UEFA shift that game to Lisbon, behind closed doors. And once again, the city lost the opportunity to arrange the final due to the raging pandemic this year.
According to reports in Turkey, UEFA who are yet to officially comment, has promised the Turkish Football Federation to host the final in 2023 with the match expected to feature as a part of celebrations of the Republic’s centenary.
