Euro 2020: UEFA fail to get Danes to budge on border restrictions for Russian fans

UEFA said on Wednesday it had failed to get Denmark to allow Russian football fans entry to the country for their European Championship group stage match with the host nation in Copenhagen.

Under the Nordic host country’s COVID-19 travel restrictions, non-EU citizens are not allowed to enter, which also applies to Russia supporters who have purchased tickets for the match.

Russia will play their only Euro 2020 group stage match abroad in Copenhagen against Denmark on June 21. Their other two fixtures against Belgium and Finland will take place in St Petersburg.

The Russian Football Association said it is “is extremely concerned about the situation.”

“We ask you to promptly study the possibility of admitting fans to the match and propose a mechanism for resolving this situation,” head of the Russian FA Aleksandr Alaev said in a letter sent to UEFA tournament director Martin Kallen on Monday.

UEFA said the issue had been addressed to Denmark through the country’s football association.

“However, no exemption from the current border entry restrictions was granted,” UEFA said on Wednesday in an email to Reuters.

The spokeswoman for Denmark’s ministry of culture confirmed that the current travel restrictions apply to Russian fans and that it was not politically motivated.