September 22 – On Thursday, European champions Bayern Munich will face Europa League winners Sevilla in Budapest, but with as many as 2,100 Germans fans traveling to the Hungarian capital concerns over coronavirus infections are spreading.
Bayern’s chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said that more than 2,000 fans will travel for the match, but Germany’s CDC has deemed the Hungarian capital a ‘high risk’ area for the coronavirus, which means that the German fans could face quarantine when they return home from the match.
Bavarian governor Markus Soeder said that quarantine rules will be tightened and implored Bayern Munich fans not to travel to the Super Cup. “My stomach hurts thinking about the Super Cup. Budapest is a risk area. There is a very high level of infections. We have to be very careful that we don’t risk turning it into a football-Ischgl,” said Soder.
Soder referred to the Austrian winter resort of Ichgl which became a coronavirus hotspot earlier this year. He added: “My appeal would be to think about it again and see if this is really necessary. The Super Cup is an exciting game but it is not the most decisive game of all.”
The Super Cup will be the first major European club game to see fans in the stands, with UEFA and local authorities green lighting the attendance of 20,000 fans. Both participating clubs were allocated 3,000 tickets, but the Spanish have already returned 2,500 tickets to UEFA.
The game is traditionally the curtain raiser of the new European club season, pitting the Champions League winners against the Europa League victors, but it had to be pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Bayern coach Hansi Flick said that “you can’t quite understand” why Budapest is staging the match.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713934196labto1713934196ofdlr1713934196owedi1713934196sni@o1713934196fni1713934196