The UEFA Champions League final is set to be transferred from Turkey to Portugal. Although there were a number of discussions on the possibility of having the all-English club final in Britain, according to reports, UEFA is expected to announce that the final will be held in Portugal.
The final, scheduled for May 29, will be between two English clubs, Manchester City and Chelsea. It was due to be played in Istanbul but that was thrown into doubt after the British government placed Turkey on its travel red list, making it all but impossible for British fans to attend.
It is not clear yet as whether the final will be staged in Lisbon or Portugal.
The final decision is to be announced on Tuesday.
Portugal is on the green list so fans would be allowed to attend on 29 May. The match could still be played at Wembley but it would require a major shift from the government, who have so far failed to reach an agreement with Uefa.
Earlier on Sunday, senior British minister Michael Gove said that delicate negotiations are going on between the British government, European soccer’s governing body UEFA and others about where the Champions League final should be played.
“There are delicate negotiations that are going on at the moment,” Gove said on Sky News when asked about where the final should take place.
“My friend, my colleague the culture secretary Oliver Dowden (also the minister for sport) is talking to people about this at the moment, and so I don’t want to cut across that. But I’m sure that fans in the UK would dearly love to see the final played here in the UK.”
Asked about the same issue in a separate interview on the BBC, Gove said Dowden was talking to “UEFA and others”.
