FAW advises fans not to travel to group games

THE Football Association of Wales has advised fans not to travel to Italy and Azerbaijan this summer for Wales’s Euro 2020 fixtures.

Rob Page’s side face matches in Baku (June 12 and 16) and Rome (June 20) as part of their tournament campaign. Question marks have hung over the competition since its postponement last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite a relaxing of lockdown rules in Wales and England, travel restrictions still remain, and following dialogue with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK Government new guidance has now been issued to supporters.

Due to the pandemic, the FCDO has issued advice warning Wales fans not to travel to Baku or Rome, with Azerbaijan and Italy on the UK Government’s amber list.

The following information has been received from the FCDO: “Whilst today British nationals can travel abroad there are red, amber and green list rules for entering the UK.

“To prevent new Covid variants from entering the UK, British nationals should not travel to amber or red list countries. Azerbaijan and Italy are amber and the FCDO advises against all but essential travel based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks.

“Whilst the FCDO does not enforce any advice, most standard travel insurance policies will be invalidated for any trips, and most UK tour operators won’t send customers to places where we advise against travel.”

Whilst it is no longer illegal to travel, the FAW advises fans to make an informed choice about travelling to Baku and Rome considering the FCDO advice as attending games will not be deemed as essential travel.

For those fans who remain determined to travel despite the warnings, the FAW strongly advises that fans check that their travel insurance is still valid.

Vince Alm, chairman of the Football Fans Association Cymru, told BBC Radio Wales yesterday: “The traffic light system is not fan-friendly, that is for sure. We would have preferred red or green, but no amber because with green you can go and red you can’t.

“This leaves fans in a dilemma. The advice is not to go because it is nonessential travel, but you can go if you quarantine yourself out. A lot of fans will have paid a lot of money up front which they can’t now recoup because the insurance won’t pay out because it is an amber country.

“That is what insurance companies are being told. You won’t get a refund on your ticket and you won’t get a refund on your hotel. We are being told that because it is amber, you are only advised not to go.

“It is leaving fans thousands of pounds out of pocket. The tests that you have to take for an amber country are going to cost about £300 and if you got Covid out there you would have to stay out there.”