Euro 2020 final: 2,500 VIPs allowed into England without quarantine

A minister has said officials are doing “as much as we possibly can” to accommodate Euros 2020 after it was reported the government is to allow thousands of VIPs into England without the need to quarantine in an attempt to stop the final being mobed from Wembley to Budapest.

The proposal would exempt an estimated 2,500 Uefa and Fifa officials, politicians, sponsors and broadcasters from quarantine restrictions faced by ordinary travellers, according to the Times.

It comes after the government announced a 4-week delay to the easing of lockdown restrictions in England, in an attempt to vaccinate more people as the Delta variant spreads.

The only teams playing in Euros 2020 on England’s green list are Wales and Scotland.

When asked how it would be fair for VIPs to have different rules from the general public, Kit Malthouse said: “I haven’t seen the detail of that particular proposal. One of the things we are trying to do though is obviously accommodate the Euros as much as we possibly can.

“And while much of the concern around coronavirus regulations has been about whether one situation is fair compared with another situation what we’re generally trying to do is make difficult decisions about the path of a virus, at the same time as trying to enable the ordinary operation of very special events like the Euros and, no doubt, health professionals and the immigration professionals at the Home Office and then the senior ministers who make a decision will take all of that into account as we proceed.

“And look, it’s a great competition, we’re very lucky to have it, we’re trying to make it happen with as much kind of satisfaction all round as we possibly can and that will be taken into account in the decision over the next few days.

The Times says ministers are worried if they don’t relax the rules the semi-final and finals could be moved to Hungary.

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