More coronavirus chaos in the world of European football, as yet another venue switch was announced today. Over the weekend we learned that the first leg of the Liverpool-RB Leipzig UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie would be relocated from Leipzig to Budapest, Hungary.
On Tuesday, we were informed that Manchester United’s first leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 32 tie, originally scheduled to be staged at Real Sociedad, would be shifted to Juventus’ home venue, Allianz Arena.
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The official statement reads: “UEFA can confirm that the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 first leg match between Real Sociedad and Manchester United FC will now take place at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
“The date of the match (18 February 2021) and kick-off time (18:55 CET) will remain the same. UEFA would like to thank Real Sociedad and Manchester United FC for their close cooperation and assistance in finding a solution to the issue at hand, as well as the Italian Football Federation and Juventus for their support and agreeing to host the match in question.”
The date of the match remains unchanged (Feb 18), while the second leg, at Old Trafford, remains scheduled for Feb. 25.
The move has been made with safety precautions, amid the coronavirus pandemic, in mind. Spain currently has a travel ban on the United Kingdom, due to to their severe struggles with the covid-19 epidemic right now.
United are considered by many to be the favorites to win the Europa League tournament.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.