Officials from the Russian Football Union have called on UEFA for help in their efforts to convince Denmark to allow fans into the country for their clash at Euro 2020 this summer.
Denmark are due to host Russia for a Group B encounter in Copenhagen on June 21, for what will be the pair’s final game in the opening stage of the competition.
Parken Stadium in the Danish capital will allow at least 11,000 fans in to watch each of the four matches it is hosting at the pan-continental tournament, although Russian fans do not appear likely to be among them.
Russia is currently on Denmark’s ‘orange list’ of countries according to their Covid status, meaning visitors must have a “worthy reason” to enter the country as a non-EU member.
Euro 2020 matches are not included in the list of essential travel and no exemptions will be made for ticket holders, according to the UEFA website.
With around 2,500 Russian fans believed to be in receipt of tickets for the game on June 21, it is a situation which has caused consternation among Russian football officials.
In an official letter to UEFA Executive Director Martin Kallen, secretary general of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Aleksandr Alaev expressed concern in regard to the Danish authorities’ decision.
“[The RFU] is extremely concerned about the situation around the impossibility of the entry of the fans of the Russian national team to the game of the group stage of the final stage of UEFA EURO 2020 in Denmark (21.06.2021), who have purchased tickets for the match," Alaev wrote.
“Based on the above, we ask you to promptly study the possibility of admitting fans to the match and propose a mechanism of resolving this situation.”
In contrast to Denmark, for the seven Euro 2020 matches being held in St. Petersburg in northern Russia fans will be allowed visa-free access to the country provided they have match tickets, a FAN-ID and a negative Covid test.
Also on rt.com Russia legend Arshavin to RT: St. Petersburg ‘ready to host more matches at Euros’ as UEFA set to reallocate games (VIDEO)Postponed from last summer due to the pandemic, Euro 2020 will be held across 11 host cities from June 11 to July 11 this summer.
The cities will vary in terms of the number of fans allowed into stadiums, ranging from 25%-45% of stadium capacity in eight cities, to at least 50% in St Petersburg and Baku, and 100% capacity for matches in Budapest.