Champions League Final: UEFA Snubs Istanbul, UK, Chooses New Venue 

Champions League final: UEFA snubs Istanbul, UK, chooses new venue 

UEFA is set to confirm that this year’s Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City will be moved from Istanbul to Porto’s Estadio do Dragao, according to Sky Sports.

Champions League Final

The UK had looked like a feasible alternative especially as it is an all-English finish.

But UEFA and the FA could not agree on waiving quarantine rules for 2,000 staff, sponsors, VIPs and foreign media.

A change of venue became imperative after the UK government placed Turkey on its COVID-19 red list and urged fans not to travel for the fixture.

UK citizens returning from red-list countries are required to quarantine at a government-approved hotel for 10 days.

The capacity at the Estadio do Dragao is 50,000 and UEFA is in talks with the Portuguese government to allow 20,000 to attend the final.

That would mean up to 6,000 tickets for fans of each club.

Portugal is on the government green list, so UK visitors will be able to travel there from Sunday. They will not need to quarantine but they will have to take Covid-19 tests before and after they travel.