Denmark refuses to lift travel ban on Russian UEFA EURO 2020 fans

Visitors from Russia are currently barred from entering Denmark unless they have a “worthy purpose”, which does not include attending EURO 2020 games.

UEFA officials have confirmed that Denmark will not be granting any travel ban wavers to Russian soccer fans hoping to watch their team play in Copenhagen at EURO 2020 tournament this summer.

Copenhagen is one of the 11 host cities for the pan-continental 2020 European Championship, where the city’s Parken Stadium will be the venue for four matches, including the Group B meeting between Denmark and Russia on June 21.

Current Danish COVID-19 travel restrictions mean visitors from Russia are barred from entering Denmark unless they have a “worthy purpose”, which does not include attending EURO 2020 games.

According to Russian sports officials’ estimates, that means around 2,500 Russian fans with tickets for the game with Denmark will be unable to travel to see the match.

In a letter to UEFA this week, Russian Football Union (RFU) official asked the soccer governing body to step in and address the issue. 

“The RFU is extremely concerned about the situation around the impossibility of the entry of the fans of the Russian national team to the game of the group stage of the final stage of UEFA EURO 2020 in Denmark,” the offical wrote.

“We ask you to promptly study the possibility of admitting fans to the match and propose a mechanism of resolving this situation.”

UEFA later confirmed that the issue had been raised with the football authorities in Denmark, although they received a response that the country would not shift its stance.