Euro 2020: FA in talks over tickets for Italy-based England fans

The FA are in talks with UEFA to try to sell their ticket allocation for Saturday's Euro 2020 quarter-final to England fans based in Italy.

After an historic win against Germany, England will take on Ukraine in Rome.

Covid travel restrictions mean the FA has already decided not to sell tickets through their normal channels.

However, UK nationals living in Europe are able to travel without quarantining as long as they have proof of full vaccination or a negative test.

The FA has been allocated 2,560 tickets for Saturday's match, which equates to 16% of the agreed capacity of 16,000 at the Stadio Olimpico.

Current rules state that UK passengers travelling to Italy must provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken 48 hours before travelling and then isolate for five days.

On Tuesday evening, there were jubilant scenes at Wembley as Gareth Southgate's side beat Germany 2-0 in front of 41,973 fans, while a peak TV audience of 20.6 million watched on BBC One.

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Normally, tickets that are not sold would be returned to UEFA, European football's governing body, which would make them available on their website.

However, BBC football reporter Simon Stone said the FA was keen to have the maximum number of England fans present - and felt that selling them to fans already in Italy would be the best way of achieving that.

The FA are also in contact with the British embassy in Rome to come up with a plan for selling the tickets.

Earlier, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stressed that the British Embassy in Rome was not selling or distributing tickets to the match.

Downing Street said people should not travel to amber list countries such as Italy and urged fans to follow the rules.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "Obviously we appreciate how fans will want to do everything possible to support the England team but we do need to balance that against the need to protect public health.

"We would urge everyone to comply with the guidelines and rules that we have in place."

Italian media are reporting that the Interior Ministry is devising a plan to strengthen controls at transport hubs like airports ahead of Saturday's match.

ANSA, the Italian news agency, quotes government sources saying that the five-day quarantine rule for all those who arrive from the UK has to be "strictly followed" and there will be "no exceptions".

One England fan who will be able to travel to the match is Luke Curner, who lives in Helmstedt in Germany but is originally from Kent.

The 36-year-old German language student, who bought tickets back in 2019, told the PA news agency: "I'm excited to be seeing England in a major championship but at the same time I'm sad that it won't have the same atmosphere due to the lack of English supporters being allowed to travel.

"It was great watching the game in Germany, although my whole neighbourhood knows I must be English and my wife hates me for waking our children up when England scored.

"Luckily I am taking her to Rome for the match so she can't hate me for too long."

Dawn Hughes, who is originally from the Wirral but now lives in Rome, said she was on her phone in search of tickets as soon as England won - and managed to get one.

She said the last year had been "awful" with her catching Covid but said she would be "elated" if England won the tournament.

"With everything that's been going on, it would just be magic for everyone," she told BBC News.

England's win was their first in a knockout tie over Germany since the 1966 World Cup final.

Former England captain Alan Shearer said he couldn't remember Wembley ever being that loud for an England game, despite the reduced capacity, describing the atmosphere as "incredible".

Southgate said the team started talking about their next game in the dressing room. "It's a dangerous moment for us," he said.

"We'll have that warmth of success and the feeling around the country that we've only got to turn up to win the thing - and we know it's going to be an immense challenge from here on."

If England beat Ukraine, they will play the Czech Republic or Denmark in the semi-finals.

If England get to the final, Saturday's trip to Rome will be the only one of their seven matches not at Wembley.

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July 01, 2021 at 04:00AM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57670139