England v Iceland to take place at Wembley despite Covid-19 fears
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Published 12/11/2020 at 17:59 GMT
After an outbreak of a new strain of Covid-19 in Denmark, where Iceland play on Sunday, it had been feared that England's clash with Erik Hamren's men would have to take place on neutral territory. But the British government has granted the team a travel exemption, having previously banned all arrivals from Denmark from entering the country.
Wembley Stadium
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England will be able to face Iceland at Wembley on Wednesday after the British government granted an exemption for the away team.
The United Kingdom has banned all arrivals into the country from Denmark after a new strain of Covid-19 was detected in farmed mink, leading to a widespread cull of the animal amid fears it could cause a new epidemic.
Iceland are set to play Denmark in Copenhagen on Sunday, which would see them fall foul of the new law.
It had been mooted that the UEFA Nations League fixture could instead take place on neutral territory, in either Germany or Albania.
The FA had been lobbying the government to let the match take place in London, arguing that the Icelandic side were part of an elite bubble and therefore free of the virus.
And they have been successful in that attempt and the match will go ahead as originally scheduled.
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A statement from the Department for Transport reads: "The government has also announced a limited exemption for a small number of Danish and Icelandic national football players to travel from the UK to Copenhagen and back, without the need to self-isolate, to take part in upcoming international football fixtures.
"This temporary and extremely limited exemption will allow the relevant players and essential staff support to be exempt from the new requirements and will help reduce any disruption for England's up and coming Nations League fixtures."
England is a week into its national lockdown, which came into place last Thursday having been imposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson the previous weekend.
After a home friendly against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday, they travel to Belgium, another country in its second nationwide shutdown, on Sunday before the clash with Iceland.
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