The Football Association is awaiting clarification from the UK government on whether England’s Nations League match against Iceland can still be staged at Wembley, following the introduction of new travel restrictions relating to a mutation of coronavirus discovered in Denmark. If the match cannot go ahead in the UK the FA will explore staging it overseas.
Iceland are due to play Denmark in Copenhagen three days before the fixture with England at Wembley which is currently set for Wednesday 18 November. On Saturday the government imposed a ban on all non-UK nationals arriving from Denmark due to concerns over a strain of Covid-19 that has been transmitted from mink to humans.
This means that as the regulations stand Iceland’s squad would be barred from entering the country, unless the government decides an exception can be made. The FA hopes to hear from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Monday, though a final decision on the fixture may take longer.
The UK entered a second lockdown on 5 November. During the first lockdown, elite sport and its athletes were granted special dispensation to leave and enter the UK, as when English clubs travelled to Portugal and Germany in August to compete in the Champions League and Europa League. But online government guidance states that no exemptions will be made to the new quarantine policy for Denmark.
Another solution would be for the Danish FA to rearrange their upcoming fixtures to take place outside the country, thus meaning Iceland would not be entering the UK from Denmark.
The FA has already been forced to cancel England friendlies with first New Zealand and its subsequently chosen replacement nation, Australia, at Wembley due to coronavirus quarantine regulations.
England are due to meet the Republic of Ireland in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday, before the Nations League trip to Belgium on Sunday, followed by the game against Iceland.
Premier League sides are also set to decide on whether or not to release Danish players – including Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg of Tottenham – to join the Denmark squad this week.
Players travelling to Denmark would be required to isolate for 14 days on their return, and would miss crucial Premier League fixtures as a result.
