The Portuguese Government will have the power to suspend matches

Lisbon will host, starting on Wednesday, the seven games of the improvised 'Final Eight' that UEFA has organized to elucidate the 2020 Champions Champions. It will do so in the middle of a pandemic that will raise the level of demand, in terms of organization and commitment, of the highest body of European football and the Government of Portugal itself.

That is why the Portuguese authorities have issued some measures in coordination with UEFA to safeguard collective health and to be able to celebrate such an important event without consequences that could be fatal. As a result, we are left with a strict protocol that both the eight participating teams and potential fans – despite being played behind closed doors – will have to comply.

The first rule is imposed by UEFA, and makes it very clear that, In the event that a team does not have 13 players, the match will not be played. However, The last word will be given to the Portuguese Government and the General Directorate of Health in this case, since it can decide that the entire team is quarantined despite having a sufficient number of footballers if a positive for COVID-19 is confirmed. Therefore, the authorities of the neighboring country will have the power to suspend a meeting.

Also, A doctor will follow each team to monitor their movements from their entry to their departure from the country and to verify that all footballers undergo the coronavirus test just after arrival and before each match. Whoever does not take this test will not be able to enter the stadium. The last measure that has been imposed on teams is the recommendation that club leaders – in groups of a maximum of ten – do not have contact with the squads.

As far as the fans are concerned, as is well known, matches will be played behind closed doors. However, the Portuguese Police have drawn up a protocol so that potential fans or tourists who may come to the city do so in conditions of maximum security.

First of all, remember that “meetings are not allowed because they are a source of very high risk of contagion.” If fans want to celebrate, they must do so in places where “they can permanently maintain social distance.”

Finally, the Police has appealed to sanity urging “that no one consider football as an exception to the rules of public health” and appealing to the “impact that the coronavirus can have on the life of each one and, consequently, of family and friends.”