The Euro 2020 final remains at Wembley. Uefa reiterated this after the various hypotheses circulated in recent days regarding a possible move of the headquarters for the final act of the first traveling European. Hypotheses born in the first instance for issues related to the quarantine to which subjects entering the United Kingdom must submit, then re-launched by the Italian premier Mario Draghi due to the increase in Covid-19 cases, due to the higher incidence of the delta variant. Issues that have cast doubt on the conduct of the last matches in London, the venue chosen for the semi-finals and final. At present, the London facility is open to 25% (it can therefore accommodate 22,500 spectators out of the 90 thousand total capacity), but for the semifinals and finals, as announced by the London Government, 75% will be reached, i.e. 60 thousand fans. in the stands.
The latest from London
The British government has made it known that it is one step away from reaching an agreement with UEFA to ensure that the final of Euro 2020, scheduled for Sunday 11 July, will be played in Wembley. An agreement will be made official shortly, after a series of “successful” talks that have taken place in recent days. Uefa expects that at least on the occasion of the last European match, London suspends the current restrictive anti-Covid measures for its numerous guests, a large delegation of about 2,500 people made up of sports managers, political authorities, sponsors and media. Downing Street would have proposed a compromise that provides for a broad relaxation of the aforementioned measures, some of which however would remain in force. The Undersecretary for Culture, Baroness Barran, explained last Monday, June 21, that a final decision, by the British side, had not yet been taken. The hypothesis under consideration provides for the creation of a health bubble that allows UEFA guests, while respecting the self-isolation measures, to attend the match, while avoiding any contact with the other spectators present at the stadium and limiting the stay to a minimum. on the island.
Loading…
Draghi’s stance
During the summit on Monday in Berlin, Mario Draghi expressed himself on the possibility that the final of Euro 2020 will not be held in London, as planned: “I will work to ensure that it is not held in countries with high infections,” said the president. of the Council, concerned by data from the United Kingdom on the increase in Covid-19 cases. He did not mention Rome as a possible alternative, but one of the possible replacement locations could be the Olimpico, where so far Italy’s three matches have been played in the group stage and a quarter-final is scheduled.
Uefa’s commitment
However, UEFA reaffirmed its commitment with the English government to hold the last European Championship matches in London: “Uefa – reads a note – the English federation and the English authorities are working closely with success to organize the semifinals and the final of the Euro at Wembley and there are no plans to change the venue of those matches ». Before the words of Draghi, from England, another hypothesis emerged: that of moving the semifinals and final to Budapest. According to the Times, in fact, the crux of the matter is represented by the 2,500 VIPs (race officials, politicians and sponsors) who should be subject to the quarantine provided for ordinary travelers, up to ten days of isolation. A situation on which Uefa and the British government are working, but in the background the possibility of transferring everything to Budapest is advanced, where there are no restrictions and where no restrictions have been placed on the public of the Puskas Arena.
Monk without a rainbow
On the other hand, relations are good between UEFA and the Hungarian government. At least, this testifies to the request made by UEFA itself to the city of Munich, which wanted to light up the stadium with the colors of the rainbow on the evening of Germany-Hungary, in support of the LGBTQ + community. Uefa has not given the authorization “given the political context of this request”, linked to the Hungarian policies on the matter. Another political knot, therefore, bursts into Euro 2020 after the controversy related to the Ukraine shirt challenged by Russia for the presence of Crimea in the map of the country depicted on the shirt. Without forgetting the sponsor case with the bottles of Coca Cola moved from the table of the press conference by Ronaldo and the Pogba-Heineken case. Even in that case, UEFA officially intervened in defense of its partners. Now he does it to reaffirm his will to keep the chosen venue for the semifinals and final, that is Wembley. Waiting for news on the actual capacity for the last matches of the tournament.