Government approves red-list exemption for Champions League and European matches

English clubs will no longer be forced to play Champions League and other European matches in a neutral country if their opponents’ homelands are on the UK’s coronavirus red list.

The Government has extended its elite sport exemption from Tuesday morning to cover teams and players entering England to play Uefa club games.

Without the change, which came into effect on what was the opening night of this season’s Champions League group stage, matches involving English clubs and those from red-list countries would have had to be switched to a neutral venue to ensure they could be played.

There were several such switches last season in Uefa’s club competitions due to travel restrictions across Europe, something clubs and governing body want to avoid this term.

The Government’s extension of its elite sport exemption will also avoid a repeat of a club-versus-country tug-of-war surrounding Chelsea’s Champions League opener on Tuesday night.

A row broke out earlier this month when Zenit St Petersburg ordered Brazil players Malcom and Claudinho back from international duty after the club realised they would be banned otherwise from entering England due to their homeland being on the UK’s red list.

The change to the travel restrictions also appears set to be precursor to a further relaxation ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers following football’s club-versus-country crisis.

An 11^th-hour truce was called on Friday night with Premier League clubs facing being banned from fielding players they refused to release for international duty in red-list countries.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport, the Government has drawn up plans that would see players returning from such nations avoid being forced to pay to spend 10 day quarantining in a designated hotel.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was said to have been pushing for a solution to the crisis that would not compromise public health.