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England fans travelling to Italy to watch the team’s Euro 2020 quarter-final clash with Ukraine have been warned they will not be allowed in the stadium.
England reached the last eight after beating Germany in Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Wembley – where all of their games in the tournament have been played until now.
However, England will have to adapt to being without their supporters on Saturday when they come up against Ukraine because of coronavirus restrictions in Italy.
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A statement issued by the Italian embassy in London on Thursday said that due to current coronavirus restrictions in the country, “anybody who has been in the UK in the previous 14 days, irrespective of their nationality or residency will not be admitted to the stadium, even if they have a ticket”.
Italy is on the UK’s amber travel list, and all UK arrivals in Italy currently have to isolate for five days.
The statement continued: “Only those who can prove that they have arrived in Italy at least six days previously, have observed five days of quarantine, and have taken a post-quarantine COVID-19 test with a negative result will be allowed into the Stadio Olimpico.
“Being exempt from quarantine in Italy for any legal reason, will not translate into permission to enter the stadium. For example, travellers who are transiting through Italy for less than 36 hours or visiting briefly for work reasons are not required to quarantine, but they will not be permitted to enter the stadium.”
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Anyone found to be not in quarantine “will be punished”, officials said.
“Fans based in the UK should therefore not travel to Italy to attend the match on Saturday at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome,” they added.
The latest warning comes after the FA said on Wednesday that it “will not be selling any tickets via the England Supporters Travel Club for this fixture” due to UK and Italian travel restrictions.
Former England international John Barnes told Sky News that England’s players will have to create their own atmosphere in Rome.
“Well I’m hoping for it not to have an impact because of course it is great to have your fans there,” he said.
“If you look at the Premier League season whereby people have been playing without fans and they have been playing well nevertheless.
“They have to make their own atmosphere,” he said.
Why England fans can’t travel to Italy for Ukraine quarter-final
As England prepare to play Ukraine in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals in Rome on Saturday, Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Bryan Swanson looks at why travelling fans will not be welcome.
Why is Italy a ‘no-go’ for travelling England fans?
Since June 21, Italy imposed stricter quarantine measures for anyone arriving into the country from the UK. If anyone has been in the UK in the previous 14 days, they must self-isolate for five days before producing a negative test on release.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office [FCDO] advises against all but essential travel to the whole of Italy, including Rome, and anyone who has been in the country must self-isolate on their return to the UK, as it remains on the ‘Amber list’.
As the quarter-final takes place on Saturday, fans have no time to quarantine and still be able to attend the game, even if they are negative.
Read the full Q&A here….
