The UK Government caved in to Uefa’s demands to allow foreign VIPs to attend Euro 2020 games at Wembley as part of an ongoing effort to win support for its joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup bid, i understands.
Thousands of officials will be granted permission to attend the games without the need to quarantine despite the ongoing restrictions on travel for millions of Britons.
The Government also gave way to demands on crowd limits for the latter stages of the competition, with sources telling i the move will help curry favour with Uefa officials who hold votes on the World Cup application process.
A senior Uefa executive told i: “It is very clear. If the UK and Ireland 2030 bid has any chance of success it needs the vote of Uefa members. So, in order to get those votes the UK Government has bent over backwards to accommodate those Uefa VIPs at Wembley.”
While a Whitehall source said the Government did not formally discuss votes for the 2030 World Cup bid with Uefa officials, they did concede Downing Street was aware that going against the demands of European football’s governing body to increase Wembley’s capacity for the semi-finals and final next month would have soured relations ahead of the 2030 World Cup bid.
The Whitehall source said: “It was not raised. But obviously it would not have helped if we had a big falling out with Uefa. It is not a block vote that Uefa holds when it comes to the World Cup.
“The reality is you do not want to fall out with people, but there was no deal.”
In March, Boris Johnson said it is the “right time” for the UK and Republic of Ireland to launch a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, and the bid has been backed by the football associations of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
As i first revealed in May, Uefa had threatened to move the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final from Wembley to a stadium such as Hungary’s Puskás Aréna unless the UK Government permitted more fans into the latter stage matches.
It is understood Uefa demanded Wembley allowed at least as many into Wembley as the 61,000 fans permitted to sell out the Budapest stadium.
European football’s governing body is also insisting that around 2,500 Uefa guests are permitted to travel into the UK for the final without having to abide by the UK’s Covid quarantining rules and border restrictions.
Final details are still being worked out to decide what measures will be in place for VIPs such as officials, politicians, sponsors and broadcasters to come into the UK without having to quarantine for the end of the tournament.
Downing Street said fixed penalty notices could be issued for breaches of the rules.
On Tuesday the Government revealed that more than 60,000 football fans will be allowed to attend the semi-finals and final at Wembley if they have a negative Covid-19 test or prove they are double-vaccinated.
In a statement, Uefa said: “Uefa, the English Football Association and the English authorities are working closely together successfully to stage the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 in Wembley, and there are no plans to change the venue for those games.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3jbb9y8
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