UEFA is in talks with the British government about increasing attendance at Wembley Stadium to 65,000 for the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final, people familiar with the discussions said on Monday.
The government had already agreed to increase the current group-stage capacity from about 22,000 to at least 40,000 for one game in the Round of 16 and the final three matches of the Euro 2020 tournament in a 90,000-seat stadium.
UEFA also raised the possibility of taking games from Wembley if no agreement was reached regarding fans visiting London. Puskas Arena in Budapest was floated as a substitute, but UEFA is investigating "potentially discriminatory incidents" during Hungary's matches against Portugal and France.
"UEFA, the English FA and the English authorities are working together successfully to stage the semi-finals and finals of [Euro 2020] at Wembley and there are no plans to change venues for those games," a UEFA spokesperson provided to ESPN. Read the statement. .
UEFA hopes to achieve more quarantine exemptions for visitors, including sponsors and VIPs, people told the Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.
There are fears that Britain is witnessing the start of a third wave of coronavirus infections with 68,449 cases in the past seven days.
The resurgence, which is the result of a Delta variant first identified in India, called on Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to move the Euro 2020 final away from Britain.
"I advocate that the final should not be held in a country where the risk of infection is very high," Draghi said on Monday.
The Italian team is due to fly to London this week for the last 16 match against Austria at Wembley on Saturday.
Last week, UEFA said it was in talks with authorities in London about allowing fans of participating teams to stay in the country for less than 24 hours and stay within the bubble. .
Tourists from all non-British countries competing in Euro 2020 will be required to quarantine for at least five days upon arrival in the country under normal pandemic rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.