Portuguese plan in-and-out ‘bubble’ for Man City and Chelsea fans at UCL final

May 14 – English fans attending the Champions League final in Porto between Manchester City and Chelsea will have to fly in and out of the country on the day of the match, the Portuguese government has insisted.

Authorities also said travelling fans will need to stay in a COVID-19-secure ‘bubble’ while they are in the city.

The Champions League final was moved this week from Istanbul to Porto after the UK government added Turkey to its COVID-19 ‘red list’ of travel restrictions and then failed to reach agreement with UEFA to stage the all-English final at Wembley.

UEFA announced on Thursday that 6,000 fans from Chelsea and Manchester City will be able to attend the final on 29 May.

Portugal, which is staging the climax of UEFA’s elite tournament for the second straight time because of the coronavirus pandemic, is on England’s green list so players and fans can attend without having to quarantine on their return home.

But Portugal’s cabinet affairs minister Mariana Vieira da Silva cautioned: “Those who come to the final of the Champions League will come and return on the same day, with a test done, in a bubble situation, on charter flights.”

“There will be two fan zones and from there they will be moved to the stadium and from the stadium to the airport, being in Portugal less than 24 hours.”

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