It looked for all intents and purposes that another Champions League final at Wembley was in the bag.
After the UK government had put Turkey on its red list, it would’ve meant that any supporters travelling to Istanbul, as well as players and staff from both Chelsea and Manchester City, would have had to quarantine for 10 days upon their return.
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The Daily Mail noted that it was believed UEFA had seen such a move as a tactical one by the UK government, but that they would enter into discussions in any event as a final in London or the Midlands made sense.
However, it now seems as though the government have shot themselves in the foot.
Porto now the favourite to host Man City-Chelsea final. As we reported yesterday it was the likely backup option should today’s talks between UEFA and British govt falter. They haven’t gone well. UEFA so far not getting waivers it requires to move final to London (Wembley)
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) May 10, 2021
Journalist, Tariq Panja, tweeted that a meeting with UEFA hadn’t gone well, and as a result, Porto’s stadium, which was a fall back option in any event, was now the favourite to host the showpiece at the end of May.
Given that there was no logistical reason why Wembley shouldn’t have been offered the match, this can only be seen as another huge PR gaffe from Boris Johnson’s error-prone Conservative party.