Portugal’s Health Secretary Antonio Lacerda Sales has confirmed that there will be no fans at the Champions League final in Lisbon in August.
UEFA decided on June 17 that the final stages of the 2019/20 Champions League will take place in the Portuguese capital from August 12 to 23, instead of Istanbul, as originally planned.
Benfica’s Estadio da Luz will host the Champions League final on August 23 / Carlos Costa/Getty Images
The cities of Porto and Guimaras will host round-of-16 matches on August 7-8 in the event that either team that is scheduled to host the game cannot do so. Benfica’s Estadio da Luz and Sporting CP’s Estadio Jose Alvalade were selected by UEFA for Champions League games after the quarter-finals in Lisbon.
Four teams have already confirmed their place in the last eight, as the footballing world braces itself for a World Cup-style finish to the current European campaign.
However, Health Secretary Sales confirmed on Monday that no fans would be present for the contest, promising a thrilling finish to the contest:
“Based on the public and the current pandemic situation, obviously not,” he said, according to ESPN.
“We don’t know how the pandemic is going to evolve and as we have done in other situations, we will take steps as the pandemic evolves. I cannot predict the future. Obviously not at this stage. “
UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin did not make a decision on fan entry when the rescheduled fixture was announced earlier this month / TF-Images/Getty Images
UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin said no decision had been made regarding fan attendance when the mini-tournament was announced earlier this month.
And despite a surge in COVID-19 cases forcing some northern Lisbon suburbs back into lockdown from Wednesday, UEFA said on Tuesday there was ‘no reason to plan a plan B’, as French news agency Le Monde quoted.
A Uefa spokesman also said: “We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis and will adapt when necessary if necessary,” adding that they were “working with the Portuguese Football Federation and local authorities.” are in constant contact with.”