The All-English Champions League Final has Been Moved To Porto
Games Indigo | The match between Chelsea and Manchester City was due to take place in Istanbul, but UEFA was forced to consider other options after the British government last week placed Turkey on its high-risk "red list" for international travel amid the Coronavirus pandemic, denying fans the opportunity to take part.
Wembley was seen as an alternative to Istanbul, but the British government was unable to comply with its request to allow quarantine exemptions for thousands of sponsors, VIPs, and broadcasters, making Porto the frontrunner.
UEFA confirmed that 6,000 tickets will be made available to each finalist, although the final capacity limit at the Estadio do Dragao has not yet been set.
European football’s governing body said in a statement: “The final was originally scheduled to take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul but, following the UK government’s decision to place Turkey on its red list of Covid-19 travel destinations, staging the final there would have meant none of the clubs’ domestic fans would be able to travel to the game.
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“After a year of fans being locked out of stadiums, UEFA thought that everything needed to be done to ensure the supporters of the two finalist teams could attend.
“UEFA discussed moving the match to England but, despite exhaustive efforts on the part of the Football Association and the authorities, it was not possible to achieve the necessary exemptions from UK quarantine arrangements.”
The decision means Portugal will host the Champions League final for the second year in a row after Lisbon was the place for last season's delayed final stage of the competition.
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City manager Pep Guardiola admitted he was disappointed that the final could not be played in Istanbul, but had no complaints about the change of venue.
At a press conference, Guardiola said: "If UEFA decides, we will go to Porto.
“I have had the pleasure to go to Istanbul but since my period as a football player in Barcelona, I never had the opportunity to go there again, not even in the Champions League. For Ilkay Gundogan I wanted to go there.
“Unfortunately UEFA decided to go to Portugal but no problem there.”
“Fans have had to suffer more than 12 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.
“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.”
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said: "Once again we have reached out to our friends in Portugal to help both UEFA and the Champions League, and as always I am very grateful to the FPF (Portuguese Football Association) and the Portuguese Government for agreeing to host the game at such short notice.
"I think we can all agree that we hope never to experience a year like the one we have just endured.
