UEFA Champions League final moved to Portugal so 12,000 can attend

13 May 2021, 11:51 | Updated: 13 May 2021, 13:12

The UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea will be held in Portugal at the end of May after Turkey was placed on the Red List.

The final was originally scheduled to take place at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul but following the UK government’s decision to place Turkey on its red list of travel destinations that would have meant no fans could attend.

Instead it will be held at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto on 29 May.

Portugal will be added to the UK's Green list when international travel resumes, meaning people will be permitted to visit and not need to quarantine on return.

The UEFA will be selling 6,000 tickets on each side.

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In a statement the organisation said the possibility of moving the match to England was discussed, but it was not possible to achieve the necessary exemptions from UK quarantine arrangements.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: "Fans have had to suffer more than twelve months without the ability to see their teams live and reaching a Champions League final is the pinnacle of club football. To deprive those supporters of the chance to see the match in person was not an option and I am delighted that this compromise has been found.

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“After the year that fans have endured, it is not right that they don’t have the chance to watch their teams in the biggest game of the season.

"Once again we have turned to our friends in Portugal to help both UEFA and the Champions League and I am, as always, very grateful to the FPF and the Portuguese Government for agreeing to stage the match at such short notice."

More to follow...