'Do not travel' Chelsea and Man City fans told as Turkey is placed on red list
Istanbul’s hosting of the all-English Champions League final has been thrown into doubt after confirmation Turkey was being placed on the British Government’s coronavirus ‘red list’ from Wednesday.
UK citizens returning from ‘red list’ countries are required to quarantine at a Government-approved hotel for 10 days.
The Government announced Turkey had joined the list of high-risk countries at a briefing on Friday evening.
Speaking at a press conference, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Red countries are those which should not be visited except in the most extreme of circumstances, where repeated testing and isolation in designated Government hotels on return is compulsory.
“Non-UK residents who have been in a red country in the last 10 days will still be barred from entering the UK.
“I must tell you that now due to concerns about Covid rates and variants of concern, Turkey, the Maldives, Nepal must regrettably be added to the red list.”
Manchester City and Chelsea booked their places in the final on May 29 after overcoming Paris St Germain and Real Madrid respectively earlier this week.
Immediately talk turned to England hosting the final, with Turkey in a lockdown.
But Shapps said fans should not travel and confirmed the Football Association has approached UEFA over whether the match could be moved to England.
Shapps said: “I’m afraid we are having to put Turkey on the red list. This will have a number of ramifications. First of all, it does mean with the regards to the Champions League, fans should not travel to Turkey.
“The FA are in discussions with UEFA on this. We are very open to hosting the final but it is ultimately a decision for UEFA.
“Of course the UK has already got a successful track record of football matches with spectators, so we are well placed to do it.
“We are very open to it but it is in the end a decision for UEFA to make, but given there are two English clubs in that final, we look forward to what they have to say.”
Previously UEFA insisted it had no plans to change the venue, stating: “The UEFA Champions League final will take place in Istanbul on May 29 with a limited number of spectators and we are assured the temporary lockdown which is in force until May 17 should not have any impact on the match.
“UEFA continues to work closely with the Turkish Football Federation and the local and national authorities to stage the match safely.”
Speaking on Thursday to ITV News London former Chelsea player Wayne Bridge said the Champions League Final should be moved from Istanbul to the UK because of current Covid restrictions.
"For me I think like most fans it should be here, especially with two English teams and the Covid rate [in Turkey].
"For me it's a no brainer to have it here and it's better for the fans as well," Bridge said.
The rate of coronavirus infection in Turkey is currently much higher than in the UK.
In Turkey there are 406 cases per 100,000 people
In the UK there are 22 cases per 100,000 people