ITALY’S prime minister wants the Euro 2020 final moved from London to Rome after a surge in Covid cases in Britain.
Mario Draghi said he will do all he can to stop the sporting extravaganza being held at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, July 11.
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“Yes… I will try to stop the final being held in a country where infections are rising quickly,” he said, before adding he wants the game to be played in the Italian capital instead.
“I advocate that the final should not take place in a country in which the risk of infection is very big.”
He was speaking ahead of a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel.
She has also expressed concern about the rise in cases of the Delta variant across the UK.
Draghi’s pledge came as his country reported 21 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday and 495 new cases.
On the same day the UK recorded just five deaths and 10,633 new cases.
But although cases remain relatively high, hospitalisations and deaths are still not as bad as they were in previous waves of the pandemic.
According to Italian news agency ANSA, a source at UEFA said there are no plans to ditch England’s national stadium for the big final.
The insider said the “English federation and the English authorities are working closely together successfully to organise the semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley and there are no plans to change the venue for those matches”.
Meanwhile, UEFA is in talks with the British government about increasing the attendance at Wembley Stadium to 65,000 for the semi-finals and final.
Earlier we reported how the final is almost certain to stay at Wembley after a stoppage-time deal between ministers and Uefa.
Boris Johnson’s team were last night scrambling to stop the last three games of the tournament being switched to Hungary amid a major travel row.
The Sun can reveal Downing Street is on the cusp of an agreement with organisers to allow quarantine-free travel for VIPs.
It could see up to 75,000 fans allowed in to watch the final at the stadium. However last night the Italians threw a spanner in the works by saying it should be stripped from Wembley because of Covid rates.
The Three Lions line up against the Czech Republic tomorrow night, with a win guaranteeing another game at Wembley, against either France, Germany or Portugal.
If they come second with a draw, they will have to go to Copenhagen for an awkward clash against Spain, Slovakia, Sweden or Poland.
A defeat leaves their fate in the lap of the gods.
Harry Kane will again lead out the side after their drab 0-0 draw with Scotland last week.
Talks are also ongoing over increasing the final’s capacity to between 60,000 and 75,000.
Insiders are confident they will strike a deal within the next 24 hours – staving off any threat of the final being moved to Hungary.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
