London (United Kingdom) (AFP)
Like those of Liverpool and Manchester City, the round of 16 first leg Atlético Madrid-Chelsea, scheduled for Madrid, was moved Wednesday by UEFA to Bucharest, due to fears related to the spread of new variants of Covid-19.
"UEFA can officially confirm that the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Atlético Madrid and Chelsea will take place at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest," the organization wrote in its statement.
"The date of the match (Tuesday 23 February) and the kick-off time (9:00 p.m. / 8:00 p.m. GMT) remain the same," she added.
Several countries in continental Europe have taken travel restriction measures to stem the spread of new variants of the coronavirus.
One of these variants, more contagious, has appeared in southern England, while the United Kingdom is the most affected country in Europe with nearly 113,000 dead and is currently under strict containment.
Two other matches in these first round of C1, between German teams and English teams - Leipzig-Liverpool on February 16 and Mönchengladbach-Manchester City on the 24 - had also been relocated to Budapest.
The phenomenon also concerns the Europa League, since Manchester United's round of 16 first leg against Real Sociedad will be played in Turin, UEFA said Tuesday and that between Norwegian clubs Molde and German Hoffenheim, on February 18, was moved to Villarreal (Spain), the Norwegian borders being completely closed to non-residents.
This situation, if it were to continue, casts doubt on the possibility of continuing these competitions on the basis of home and away matches.
Last season, the C1 and the C3 had opted for a final tournament from the quarters, in Portugal for the C1 and in Germany for the C3.
Three weeks ago, UEFA confirmed its intention to keep the organization of Euro-2020 in 12 European cities, from June 11 to July 11, hoping that the health situation will improve by then .
© 2021 AFP