FOOTBALL SHORTS

ITALY and Austria have been blocked from training at Wembley ahead of tomorrow’s Euro 2020 last-16 tie due to concerns over the surface. The match is the first of five fixtures still to take place at the national stadium, which has already hosted all three of England’s group games. Three days after Italy and Austria meet, it will play host again as England take on Germany. It is customary for teams to train at the venue the night before a UEFA fixture but with two games scheduled in the space of four days, as well as both semi-finals and the final, the authorities have opted for a cautious approach.

NETHERLANDS captain Georginio Wijnaldum has called on UEFA to take stronger action against racism and said players should not have to make a decision on whether to walk off the field in protest.

Wijnaldum said he had thought long and hard about leaving the pitch if subjected to racist abuse when the Dutch play in Budapest against the Czech Republic on Sunday but was still in two minds. ‘I previously indicated that I would walk off,’ Wijnaldum told a news conference. ‘But what if you play against a weaker team and those fans antagonise you to get you to walk off the field so that you lose the match? UEFA must protect the players. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the players.’

THREE Denmark fans were infected with the Delta Covid variant by attending their Euro 2020 match against Belgium, according to the Danish Agency for Patient Safety. The agency also says there have been 29 cases of infection in connection with three European Championship matches held in Copenhagen. The news comes with Denmark due to play Wales in a last-16 tie in Amsterdam tomorrow — a game which Danish fans are able to attend but Welsh supporters are not.