UEFA has no plans to replace Wembley as host stadium of the Euro 2020 semifinals and final, European soccer’s governing body said, after Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for the final to be moved from Britain due to rising COVID-19 cases.
The United Kingdom recorded 10,633 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths on Monday, taking its toll to 4.63 million confirmed cases and 127,976 total deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
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Sources told ESPN on Friday that Wembley could be stripped of hosting, with the fixtures moved to Hungarian capital Budapest, if the United Kingdom government failed to allow quarantine exemptions for visiting supporters and UEFA guests to attend the games.
“UEFA, the English FA and the English authorities are working closely together successfully to stage the semifinals and final of EURO in Wembley and there are no plans to change the venue for those games,” a UEFA spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
Wembley is scheduled to host the semifinals on July 6 and 7 before the July 11 final.
Italian PM Draghi said on Monday he was in favour of hosting the final in Rome, rather than in “a country where infections are rising quickly.”