Turkey has been added to the UK's "red list" of travel destinations, throwing Champions League final plans into chaos - with talks now ongoing over moving the game to Britain.
The match between Manchester City and Chelsea on Saturday, 29 May, was to be held at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul with around 25,000 fans (one third of capacity) in attendance.
Both Premier League clubs were set to be given an allocation of those tickets, expected to be around 4,000 each. But the number of coronavirus cases in Turkey means the UK Government has placed the country on its highest travel warning - so anyone would be refused entry back to the UK, should they attend.
Previously, UEFA have been resistant to calls to move the all-Premier League final to an English venue.
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But given the latest news, the Telegraph is now reporting that the FA and the government is in talks with UEFA over bringing the UCL final to Britain, so that Chelsea and Manchester City players can play in the fixture without quarantining - while UK-based fans of the clubs could also attend.
The situation in Turkey with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic has caused concern for some time and now it seems either no UK fans will attend unless - in a dramatic U-turn - UEFA switch the game to a UK stadium.
"We are having to be cautious about this," said the UK transport secretary, Grant Schapps, per the Guardian. "I'm afraid we're having to put Turkey on the red list and it will have ramifications.
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"Fans should not travel to Turkey. The FA are in discussions with UEFA already on this and we are very open to hosting the final.
"Ultimately it's the decision of UEFA. We have a successful track record of matches with spectators. I've spoken to the sport's minister, we're very open to it and in the end it's a decision for UEFA but given it's two English clubs in final we're waiting to hear what they have to say."
Topics: Manchester City, Chelsea, UEFA, Champions League
