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Diaranson 23 Juni 2021

Wembley capacity increased for Euro 2020 semifinals, final

(AP) — More than 60,000 over the last seven days. The
fans will be allowed into resurgence is the result of the
the semifinals and final of highly contagious delta vari-
the European Champion- ant first identified in India,
ship at Wembley Stadium sparking concerns among
after UEFA secured an European leaders about the
agreement Tuesday with growing crowds at Wembley.
the British government on
an increased capacity. “I hope that UEFA will deal
(with this) responsibly and I
No details have been pro- don’t think it would be good
vided yet on how fans from if the stadiums there are full,”
overseas can potentially at- German Chancellor Angela
tend without having to quar- Merkel said in Berlin.
antine after flying into Lon-
don. Germany has a strict 14-day
quarantine for people com-
The government had already ing from Britain because of
agreed to increase the current concerns that more cases of
group-stage capacity of about the delta variant could be im-
22,000 to at least 40,000 for ported, but other European
one game in the round of Union countries allow trav-
16 game and the final three elers who are fully vaccinated
matches of the Euro 2020 to avoid quarantining.
tournament at the 90,000-
seat stadium. Ceferin said. “This tourna- London about allowing fans To enter Wembley, fans have
ment has been a beacon of Tourists from all the non- in by staying in the country to produce a negative lateral
Now Wembley will be al- hope to reassure people that British nations competing at less than 24 hours and stay- flow test result or show proof
lowed to be at about 75% ca- we are returning to a more Euro 2020 have to quarantine ing within bubbles. UEFA is they have been fully vacci-
pacity for the semifinals and normal way of life and this is for at least five days upon ar- also seeking quarantine ex- nated.
final. a further step along that road. rival in the country under emptions for VIPs, including
general pandemic regulations representatives of sponsors. Euro 2020 is seeing the big-
“The last 18 months have “I am grateful to the prime to contain the spread of the gest crowds at any event in
taught us — both on and off minister and the UK govern- coronavirus. There are fears Britain is see- Britain since the pandemic
the pitch — how integral fans ment for their hard work in ing the start of a third wave took hold in the country in
are to the fabric of the game,” finalizing these arrangements UEFA said last week it was of coronavirus infections March 2020.
UEFA president Aleksander with us.” in talks with authorities in with cases rising to 68,449

Spain set to bring in Busquets to avoid Euro 2020 debacle

(AP) — Spain may summon its most experi- and a 1-1 draw against Poland. next round. It is making its second consecutive
enced player for its most important match at appearance after debuting at Euro 2016. Both
the European Championship. “We missed him,” Spain defender César Azpili- Slovakia and Spain were eliminated in the round
cueta said. “We tried to make up for his absence, of 16 in 2016. Spain last missed the knockout
Sergio Busquets is set to return for the match but Sergio is a key player for this team and we are round in 2004.
against Slovakia on Wednesday, when “La Roja” happy that he is back.”
faces the possibility of an embarrassing elimina- Slovakia hopes to stun Spain again like it did in
tion in front of its fans. Slovakia coach Stefan Tarkovic said Busquets’ re- 2014 by ending “La Roja’s” 36-match unbeaten
turn will be a big boost for Spain. run in qualifying for a European Championship
Only victory for Spain will be enough to ensure or a World Cup.
a spot in the round of 16 at Euro 2020. A draw Azpilicueta himself may be another veteran called
may be enough, but only if Poland doesn’t defeat upon to help the Spanish squad as it faces elimi- It remains unclear what kind of support Spain
Sweden in the other Group E match. Both games nation. The 31-year-old Chelsea right back has will receive from its fans at La Cartuja Stadium
will be played at the same time. yet to play at Euro 2020 as Luis Enrique preferred after a video of players ignoring fans at the team
to use Marcos Llorente in the position. hotel last weekend was widely shared online. The
The 32-year-old Busquets, the only player left crowd remained supportive when the team ar-
from Spain’s World Cup-winning squad in 2010, Jordi Alba had taken over as captain in the absence rived at the hotel on Tuesday, when players were
didn’t play in the team’s first two matches after of Busquets. The national team’s longtime cap- constantly waving as they passed by.
testing positive for the coronavirus. The Barce- tain, Sergio Ramos, was not called up after play-
lona midfielder had to go into isolation and only ing sparingly in the final part of the season with There is also uncertainty about the field condi-
rejoined the squad on Friday. He did not dress for Real Madrid because of injuries. The decision to tions at La Cartuja, which prompted complaints
the game against Poland on Saturday. leave him out of the squad even though he would by some players after the first two matches.
have been fit to play by the time Euro 2020 start-
Spain coach Luis Enrique didn’t want to risk ed drew a lot of criticism against Luis Enrique, Busquets said he was experienced enough to
playing with Busquets in the second match but with many saying the team was left without a true know that there was no reason for Spain not to be
said he will be available on Saturday along with leader. hopeful on Saturday.
the rest of his teammates.
Spain, playing all of its group matches in Seville, “I’ve had the luck of playing in many European
“We didn’t want to risk it with such an important is two points behind leader Sweden and one be- Championships and World Cups and most of the
player as Busquets after he spent 12 days training hind Slovakia, which surprised with an opening time we arrived at the third match with the feel-
in the garden of his house,” he said. 2-1 win over last-place Poland before losing to ing that we deserved more,” he said “but we al-
Sweden 1-0. ways depended on ourselves and most of the time
Rodri Hernández played in Busquets’ position in we advanced and won titles.”
the first two matches, a 0-0 draw against Sweden Slovakia needs a draw to guarantee its spot in the