Fans face flying visit after final Porto call

MANCHESTER CITY and Chelsea will play their Champions League final in Porto, with 12,000 supporters allowed in to watch the big game on May 29.

The switch to Portugal, confirmed by Uefa yesterday, was widely expected. The match was originally scheduled to be in Istanbul but Uefa was forced to consider other options after the British government placed Turkey on its highrisk ‘red list’ for international travel, denying fans the chance to attend.

Wembley was considered as an alternative but the UK government could not accommodate the request for quarantine exemptions for thousands of sponsors, VIPs, staff and broadcasters.

The two clubs will be allocated 6,000 tickets each for the match. Further tickets will be available on general sale from May 24, once the capacity at the Estadio do Dragao is confirmed.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said: ‘We discussed moving the match to England but, despite exhaustive efforts from the Football Association and authorities, it was not possible to achieve the necessary exemptions from UK quarantine arrangements.’

City boss Pep Guardiola understands the decision but regrets the game will not be in Turkey. He said: ‘I have had the pleasure to go to Istanbul but since my period as a player in Barcelona, I never had the opportunity to go again.

‘For Ilkay Gundogan I wanted to go there. Unfortunately Uefa decided to go to Portugal, so we are going to Portugal. No problem there.’

The Portuguese government said yesterday fans attending the final will have to fly in on the day of the match and stay in a ‘bubble’ before flying back straight after the game.

But reports last night suggested new rules easing travel restrictions in the country will be announced on Sunday.