Boris Johnson Makes Urgent Request To Switch The All ENGLISH UCL Final To UK.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made an urgent requesy to UEFA to switch this season’s all-English Champions League final to the UK.

The European football governing body, have no immediate plans prior to now to change the venue from Istanbul, despite Turkey being placed on the UK’s 'red list'

They will hold talks with the UK government on Monday about moving the Champions League final from Istanbul to London.

A decision is expected to be made by Tuesday on whether the match will take place at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul as originally planned or at a different location.

According to sources, it was announced on Friday that Turkey has been added to England's Covid-19 travel red list, meaning the suitability of the venue is now being strongly questioned.

This has made the Prime Minister push for the all English-final to be moved to the UK for the sake of Man City and Chelsea fans who may want to travel for the game, as they could face a possible ten days’ costly hotel quarantine on return from their trip for the May 29 showpiece.

Three stadiums emerged as viable options ready to host the final which are the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, St James’ Park and the Emirates Stadium respectively, as the Wembley stadium is set to host the Championship play-off final with falls on the same day of the Champions League final.

The EFL now says it is "willing to listen to moving the play-offs" to an alternative date,and would be played immediately after the Champions League final, as the European Championship would begin June 11.

EFL fans and clubs would need to be compensated for tickets and travel already booked, and increase the number of fans that would attend the games.

Speaking to The Sun, Johnson made known of his intentions;

“The Champions League is the pinnacle of European club football,"

“And with two English teams in the final, it would be a great shame if fans were unable to attend.

“It would be brilliant to host it here if we can. I want to help supporters of both clubs see their team in action.”

Manchester City and Chelsea are scheduled to play the Champions League final on Saturday, May 29 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.  

CloudNine Sports understands that the stadium was initially supposed to host the 2019/20 final, but due to restrictions put in place to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, last season final was played in Lisbon Portugal instead, with German gaints Bayern Munich emerging champions.

The ground was also the venue where Liverpool produced their famous 3-0 comeback against European giants AC Milan in 2005 to secure their fifth Champions League trophy.

There were initial plans for a total of 25,000 spectators in Turkey for this season final, but with the country now in the grip of a third wave of the coronavirus this is clearly not possible.

If the final has been granted permission to go ahead in the UK it would mean up to 15,000 fans would be permitted to attend the showpiece.