Denmark rejects calls to lift travel ban for Russian fans at Euro 2020, says restrictions not politically motivated

Denmark will not grant any exemptions for Russian football fans hoping to watch their team play in Copenhagen at the European Championship this summer, UEFA has confirmed.

Copenhagen is among the 11 host cities for the pan-continental Euro 2020 tournament, where the city’s Parken Stadium will be the venue for four matches, including the Group B meeting between Denmark and Russia on June 21.

However, current Covid restrictions mean visitors from Russia are barred from entering Denmark unless they have a “worthy purpose”, which does not include attending games at Euro 2020.

According to estimates in Russia, that means around 2,500 Russian fans with tickets for the match with Denmark will be unable to travel to see the contest.

In a letter to UEFA this week, Russian Football Union (RFU) official Aleksandr Alaev asked the football governing body to step in and address the issue. 

“[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," Alaev wrote.

“We ask you to promptly study the possibility of admitting fans to the match and propose a mechanism of resolving this situation.”

The Parken Stadium in Copenhagen which will host Euro 2020 games. © Reuters

UEFA later confirmed that the issue had been raised with the football authorities in Denmark, although they received a response that the country would not shift its stance.

“No exemption from the current border entry restrictions was granted,” Reuters quoted UEFA as saying on Wednesday.

The news outlet added that a spokeswoman for the Danish Ministry of Culture had confirmed that the travel restrictions apply to Russian fans, but that the situation was not politically motivated.

Denmark’s current list of travel restrictions divides countries into colored categories, with Russia falling into an ‘orange’ group.

There are also varying conditions depending on whether visitors are from fellow EU countries or outside the bloc, and if, for example, travelers have received a Covid-19 vaccine which is among those approved by the EU (none of Russia’s three Covid vaccines are on the list).   

The news will come as a disappointment to Russian fans hoping to attend the game at Parken Stadium, which will allow around 11,000 supporters through its gates for each match at Euro 2020.

In contrast to the stance taken by Denmark, Russia will allow all foreign fans into the country for the seven Euro 2020 matches it is hosting in St. Petersburg, as long as visitors have match tickets, a FAN-ID and provide a negative Covid-19 test.

Russia’s other two group matches are both in St. Petersburg – against Belgium and Finland – before the team travels to Copenhagen for the meeting with Denmark.