BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – The coronavirus tent installed for Bayern Munich enthusiasts has a reassuring message on its wall: “Super Cup?Super safe!”
You don’t see it that way.
This year’s Super Cup is more than just a rite of opening the European football season: if UEFA succeeds, it will mark the return of fans to the Champions League and Europa League as well.
But that means that fans of Champions League champions Bayern Munich and Europa League champions Sevilla will cross Europe to play for a largely symbolic trophy on Thursday in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
After a recent buildup of coronavirus cases across the continent, UEFA’s plan is under pressure.
Some prominent German politicians fear that the game will spread the coronavirus, and not even the mayor of Budapest needs game enthusiasts.
“If I had the legal opportunity to make a decision on this issue, the attack would take place behind closed doors,” Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony told The Nepszava newspaper for Wednesday’s edition. “But I don’t have the right, so duty is to those who do. “
The resolve to play with enthusiasts belongs to the Hungarian national government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a committed football fan who was willing to promote his country as an island of stability in the coronavirus crisis. Hungary has also helped UEFA by serving as an impartial. champions league and Europa League playoffs affected by virus restrictions elsewhere.
However, a recent outbreak of virus cases in Budapest has placed the capital on Germany’s official list of high-risk areas. Bayern enthusiasts returning from the attack will have to go through a coronavirus check and may be required to isolate themselves, Bavarian Governor Markus Soder said Monday.
Bayern first sold 2,100 entries for the adjustment of some 3,000 imaginable and presented loose coronavirus tests at their stadium. The Hungarian government demands that anyone who arrives present a recent negative test.
Approximately 800 of the 2,100 enthusiasts returned their tickets after the German government discouraged them from traveling. Seville has sold only about 500 of its allocation, so the maximum of the crowd up to 20,000 people – 30% of the capacity of the Puskas Arena – is made up of local supporters from Hungary.
UEFA’s resolve to give clubs a subsidy for travel enthusiasts is this season. No major European league allows ticket sales for 2020-2021. England and Spain started without any enthusiasts. Germany allows clubs to have supporters up to 20% of their capacity.
An increase in infection in Munich forced Bayern to play in an empty stadium against Schalke last week, but he can still play for Hungary for the Super Cup.
The Hungarian Football Federation defended the possibility of playing the Super Cup with the fans.
“Thanks to strict security measures, during the match, Puskas Arena will be a safer position than any other position in the country or anywhere in Europe,” the federation said on a Wednesday.
Bayern flew to Budapest on Wednesday with a full team, adding Leroy Sané, who could win his first trophy with Munich, and Serge Gnabry, who scored a hat trick in the 8-0 win Schalke on Friday.
Sevilla played their first competitive match of 2020-21 and will make their debut for Ivan Rakitic following the arrival of the Croatian midfielder from Barcelona on 1 September.
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