England fans with tickets to quarter final clash blast Italy’s five-day quarantine rules

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English expats were desperately hunting for tickets to the Three Lion’s crunch Euro 2020 match with Ukraine in Rome today as quarantine rules mean fans in the UK are banned from travelling. 

Britons living in locations including Munich were amongst those seeking seats at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday with fellow supporters in the UK forced to miss the game because they would need to self-isolate for five days.

Meanwhile, others in Dubai were also looking to capitalise on the scramble for tickets hoping to take advantage of a bilateral travel corridor that opened between United Arab Emirates and Italy earlier this month.

It comes as Italian authorities are reportedly tightening their border controls to stop followers of Gareth Southgate’s team from sneaking in against the rules.

And travel experts also warned fans against trying to take advantage of loopholes, including for business, because they risk watching the game from their hotel rooms and even missing the semi-final and final. 

While the Football Association has been given 2,560 tickets for the match, Downing Street has urged fans not to travel to Rome for England’s Euro 2020 quarter-final tie with Ukraine on Saturday.

Those cheering for England in attendance will make up just 16 per cent of the agreed 16,000 capacity at the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital – and it is understood the FA are trying to sell tickets to Brits currently living in Italy.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘People should not be travelling to amber list countries.

‘Obviously we appreciate how fans will want to do everything possible to support the England team but we do need to balance that against the need to protect public health.

‘We would urge everyone to comply with the guidelines and rules that we have in place.’

Commenting on the ticket chaos this morning, the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK taunted England supporters who are banned from travelling to Italy for the huge match.

Vadym Prystaiko bragged his supporters could get into the country because they are in the ‘green zone’ and would be piling into the Stadio Olympico in Rome.

One lucky England fan has said he will be attending the match on Saturday in Rome without fear of Covid quarantine as he will be travelling from Germany.

Luke Curner, who lives in Helmstedt but is originally from Folkestone, Kent, bought the tickets in 2019 as the match fell on his birthday weekend – which it still does despite rescheduling.

‘I’m excited to be seeing England in a major championship but at the same time I’m sad that it won’t have the same atmosphere due to the lack of English supporters being allowed to travel,’ the 36-year-old German language student said.

‘I’m very lucky to be in an EU country allowing me to travel with few restrictions. It was great watching the game in Germany, although my whole neighbourhood knows I must be English and my wife hates me for waking our children up when England scored – luckily I am taking her to Rome for the match so she can’t hate me for too long.’  

However, another fan with tickets said he was frustrated that he cannot attend due to Covid travel restrictions.

Warrick Howard, from Leicestershire, purchased tickets through the ballot system in 2019 for 140 euros each, but his plans for the match have been curtailed by Italy’s five-day quarantine requirement for UK arrivals.

‘Given the huge push to have everyone vaccinated there were ways of making this work for fans attending this tournament, but Uefa and the EU have made no effort to do so,’ the 37-year-old said.

‘I guess they were too busy organising thousands of ‘no quarantine required’ exemptions for their couple of thousand VIPs. I thought about flying out to Italy on Sunday June 27 and doing my five-day quarantine in an AirBnB apartment so I’d be free for the game if England did make it through… but that would have required a week off work.’ 

Expats in Dubai were the first to break cover and reveal their hopes of cheering on the national team from the stadium on Saturday.

One fan wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s okay, plenty of expats heading from Dubai since we can’t go home but can go to Italy!’ Another added: ‘Dubai-Rome-Dubai on Saturday is feeling very tempting.’

The UAE and Italy signed a bilateral travel corridor which opened at the start of this month, meaning passengers do not have to quarantine on arrival.

All flyers have to have a rapid Covid test two days before they leave and if they test negative can move into the country without hassle.

But if their result comes back positive then they have to isolate at a quarantine hotel in the country like other passengers.

It means Britons who live in the UAE or have been there for the past two weeks can fly into Rome and attend the game on Saturday if they test negative.

Others thought they had figured out a loophole that would let them drive into Italy and watch the match in-person before heading home.

The Italian government allows for visitors to get into the country for 36 hours if they travel by road in a private vehicle and are heading through to somewhere else.

But the rules state that this must be for ‘proven reasons of work, health or absolute necessity, for less than 120 hours’.

These are in place from June 21 to July 30 for everyone who has been in the UK for the last two weeks, meaning they have to quarantine for five days which would mean they miss the England match.

One option would be to go to France – because it has no quarantine of people who are double jabbed – and drive to Rome which is letting citizens from there. It is just six hours if driving from Nice.

One way around the driving loophole is if an Englishmen living in France drove into Italy for a ‘proven reason’ which involved heading to the football – for example a cameraman or journalist covering it.

But in a blow for any Britons tempted to try the loophole, it was reported today that the Italian authorities were tightening up their borders.

La Repubblica said officials were working to ‘intensify’ restrictions on motorways going into the country to stop England fans from sneaking in.

The newspaper said the Interior Ministry in Italy was working on strengthening controls at airports, stations and roads to thwart any rulebreakers.

And travel experts warned against anyone trying to game the system and get to Rome from the UK for Saturday’s match.

Head of The Points Guy UK Nicky Kelvin told MailOnline: ‘For those looking to head to Rome for England’s match against Ukraine this Saturday, it won’t be as easy as jumping on the next flight.

‘Italy currently requires all UK arrivals to take a test within 48 hours of departure and then isolate for five days and fill out an online digital form.

‘You must test again at the end of the five days to release from quarantine. The quarantine will be ten days if a negative test can’t be provided on arrival.

‘So, even if you board your flight today, you will still have to isolate until Monday – meaning you’ll be watching the game from your hotel room.

‘It’s also important to note Italy is currently on the amber list – meaning that although it isn’t against the law, the UK government discourages travel to and from such destinations.

‘Upon your return in the UK you will need a test before flying, tests booked and paid for on day 2 and day 8, complete a passenger locator form and isolate at home for 10 days.

‘There is the opportunity to use the ‘test to release’ scheme on day five of your quarantine for an extra cost.

‘If Italy is added to the red list, which looks unlikely, you could even have to undergo a hotel quarantine for 10 days at a price of £1750 per person.

‘With the need to quarantine both on arrival and return, you’re much better off watching the match on home.

‘If you’ve got your heart set on heading to Rome – you could even lose your chance of watching England in the semi-final (or even the final) if they win this weekend back at Wembley in July.’

Paul Charles from the PC Agency added: ‘If you’ve been in UK in last 14 days you can’t enter Italy unless special exemption applied – e.g. journalist/Gary Lineker! But then you would have to quarantine in the UK on your return from Italy.

‘So if in France for the last 15 days you can go into Italy. Can UEFA not get special exemption from Italian government for England fans in the same way they have got exemption for entering UK for sponsors?’

Despite the woe for England fans, the Ukrainians appeared jubilant at the Italy destination as the country’s ambassador to the UK claimed today they can get there in time for Saturday.

Mr Prystaiko told the BBC: ‘Sorry to say but our people will find it easier travelling in. We are in the green zone for Europeans and we have so many Ukrainians to support them.’

In reference to his side’s game against Sweden in Scotland last night, he said: ‘I was actually surprised yesterday how many of us were here at the Glasgow stadium.

‘We already have so many of them working and studying in Italy, numbers I believe is close to a million people. I don’t believe all of them will come to Rome, but we will have significant numbers to support our football team.’

But in an official document shared by the consult in London, it appeared people living in Ukraine were still subject to travel rules.

In a section on its website described as ‘temporary travel mode’, it said: ‘Italy allows air transit provided that passengers do not leave the airport terminal and have a pre-purchased ticket for the next flight.

‘At the same time, if it is necessary to register for another flight of the airline, which involves leaving the transit zone of the airport, transit will be possible only with a biometric passport of a citizen of Ukraine to travel abroad or a valid Schengen visa.

‘Transit by road is also allowed, provided that it does not exceed 36 hours. You must have a biometric passport or a valid Schengen visa.’ It draws into question Mr Prystaiko’s claims Ukrainians will be able to get into Italy easier than their English rivals.

In a further blow for those fans who went to the game at Hampden Park last night, they will not be able to make the Rome match due to Italy’s five-day quarantine rule on travel from the UK.

Irate fans pointed out Uefa dignitaries will be given a quarantine exemption when they travel to London for the semi-finals and final next month.

The English Football Association will make it easy for the 30,000 or so Brits living in Italy post-Brexit to get tickets through the UK embassy in Rome.

And in a chink of hope the 70,000 seater Stadio Olimpico in Rome could still be packed with England fans, the 1.2million UK-born people living in the EU can head to The Eternal City for the match at 8pm on Saturday as long as they have not been to Britain over the past 14 days.

Conor Garratt wrote: ‘I have tickets to the QF in Rome on Saturday night – you know, the one England will be in, once they beat Germany tomorrow. Won’t be going, as Italy has put in a 5-day quarantine’.

Karl Dolling tweeted: ‘Gutted that the government and all this covid b*****ks means I can’t go to Rome on Saturday. Fingers crossed back to Wembley on Wednesday’.

Another fan called Warren said: ‘I’ve got two tickets for England’s QF in Rome on Saturday. I can’t go because there’s a 5 day mandatory quarantine for entering Italy from the UK. I am so f**king done with this s**t now’.

Nottslad66 tweeted: ‘So England fans cannot travel to Rome but all the important vips can come to London with no quarantine how the f**k does that work’.

The ban means that up to 30million are expected to watch the match with Ukraine at home or in pubs and bars across the country.

Travel guru Paul Charles said that England fans in the EU have a chance to support their team.

He told MailOnline: ‘If you live in Europe, or are staying/holidaying in Europe, then as long as you haven’t been in the UK in the 14 days before you arrive in Italy, then you can go to the stadium if you have a ticket’.

He added: ‘Fans in England can go to Italy, but have to quarantine in their accommodation for 5 days. If they can stay near the stadium in Rome, perhaps with a balcony, they can soak up the atmosphere but not go into the stadium’.

Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan urged people not to travel. She said: ‘The ask is to watch from home and to cheer on the team as loud as we can.

‘I think the challenge is can they hear us from Rome and I am sure we will take up that opportunity to be as supportive as we can of our amazing England team.’

Today the nation is in euphoric mood after beating the old enemy Germany for the first time in a knockout match since winning the World Cup in 1966. 

Prince William and Kate hailed England’s ‘incredible performance’ as lucky royal mascot Prince George saw the Three Lions crush Germany 2-0 at his first international football match.

Gareth Southgate’s squad are now preparing to take on Ukraine in the Euro 2020 quarter-final in Rome on Saturday – after an estimated 25 million fans across Britain watched Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane clinch the win in Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night.

Last night’s match marked England’s first major victory over Germany since the 1966 World Cup final, ending 55 years of heartache for the Three Lions.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George joined 45,000 jubilant fans at Wembley Stadium to watch manager Southgate’s fine-tuned side run rings around German captain Manuel Neuer’s team in a superb display of resilience and perseverance.

After the match, the couple took to their official Twitter account to praise England’s ‘incredible performance’.

The England squad will now head to Rome to play Ukraine after the foreign team narrowly beat Sweden 1-0 in the last minute of extra time. The team and their coaches are exempt from a five-day quarantine, but other UK arrivals are not. 

Waves of rapturous applause filled Wembley Stadium as Manchester City’s Sterling first slotted the ball home, breaking a 0-0 first-half deadlock. Kane swiftly followed up with a neat header – sending his thrilled teammates piling on their captain in celebration as chants of ‘it’s coming home’ filled the stadium.

Young Prince George was seen watching the match close to his avid football fan father Prince William, with the pair wearing matching suits and England ties. The Duke of Cambridge dotingly explained every twist and turn of the nail-biting match to his son – who is named after the patron saint of England – as they beamed from their box.

Football Association president William threw his fists into the air as his wife Kate clapped demurely when the final whistle blew. 

In fan zones across the country – including in Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and London – overjoyed supporters were seen screaming as they celebrated.  

While the number of fans at Wembley on Tuesday night was still just over half of its normal 90,000 capacity, it marked the biggest crowd at an event seen since the pandemic began last year. 

The last time England beat out the Germans in the knockout phase of a major football tournament was when Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup in 1966. 

The match kicked off to a nail-biting start, with West Ham player Declan Rice handed a yellow card in the first ten minutes.

And, just seconds before the half time whistle was blown, England captain Harry Kane had the ball robbed from him with the Germany goal wide open after a brilliant run by Raheem Sterling.   

The second half saw Germany step up their play, but they still proved no match for Southgate’s side – with a fantastic save by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Chelsea’s Kai Havertz. 

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers when fan-favourite Jack Grealish replaced Bukayo Saka in the 68th minute, in a moved hoped to spark England’s side into their first goal. 

England midfielder Declan Rice added: ‘It’s incredible. It is history. All the players were asked about the past games, but we created history.’ It took 74 minutes for Sterling to score the first goal and send the country into rapture.

As Germany pressed for an equaliser and fans’ nerves began fraying, captain Kane headed England into a 2-0 lead with five minutes to start pandemonium in the stands.

Summing up the mood of the nation, BBC commentator Guy Mowbray said: ‘All around this famous stadium, it is fevered, frenzied excitement. This is one of the landmark football moments that don’t come around too often.’

At the final whistle, the England players hugged each other as the significance of what they had achieved began to sink in.

After the match, Kane said: ‘There isn’t anything bigger than this when the expectation is on and we delivered, so we should be proud but we can’t stop here. We have a vision of where we want to go and we can’t stop now. Hopefully we’ll be back here in the semi-finals and the final.’ 

Jack Grealish took to Twitter to react after his team won. He wrote: ‘England 2-0 Germany! What a day. Fans were UNBELIEVABLE.’ 

As jubilant supporters celebrated – with thousands pouring out onto the streets in Three Lions jerseys – roads were left eerily deserted.

Millions tuned in to watch the highly anticipated game, with pubs and bars packed out with fans who stayed on to celebrate. 

After the match, England boss Southgate revealed he had told the players after the game that he must be the ‘party-pooper’.

The win is a personal triumph for the manager, whose missed penalty in the semi-final of Euro 96 – also at Wembley – sent the Germans through. 

‘It’s a brilliant afternoon,’ Southgate told BBC Sport. ‘We talked about bringing enjoyment to the nation really and afternoons like this are what that’s about.

‘The players were absolutely immense, right the way through the team and the fans were as well. Only 40,000, but it’s as good an atmosphere as I can remember at Wembley.

‘We played extremely well. I think we deserved the win, but I’ve had to say to them (the players) straight away, look, ‘I’m the party-pooper because if we don’t capitalise on that on Saturday now, then it doesn’t count for anything’.’

Southgate was full of praise for both his goalscorers Sterling and Kane.

‘Raheem, well they both have to constantly, has to prove people wrong all the time and Raheem has been immense for us over three, four years,’ Southgate said told the BBC.

‘He knows we’ve got faith in him, we’ve got that trust in him and his performances have been electric, right from the start.

‘For Harry it was a really important moment I think. When you’re a centre-forward it doesn’t matter what else you’re doing in the game, you need those goals and I was pleased to see the second one go in I have to say.’

Southgate was asked if his side’s win helped ease the memory of his penalty shoot-out miss in 1996.

The former England defender said: ‘I’m just so pleased. I was looking at the big screen and I saw David Seaman up there, the teammates that played with me, I can’t change that, so that’s always going to hurt.

‘But what’s lovely is we’ve given people another day to remember and now we’ve got to go and do it in Rome.’

Following the win, celebrities shared their delight on social media.

Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘My God … it really might be coming home.’

The former Good Morning Britain host also shared a picture from Gareth Southgate’s penalty miss at Euro 96 at Wembley against Germany and contrasted it to a joyous snap of the England manager from Tuesday’s match.

‘Redemption,’ he wrote.

David Baddiel and Frank Skinner – who famously sang England anthem Three Lions – were also at Wembley and belted out the song alongside the other joyous supporters.

After the game, Baddiel shared a beaming picture alongside Olympic hero Mo Farah and wrote: ‘Might be coming home a bit faster with this lovely fellow on hand.’

A tweet from Ant and Dec’s official account read: ‘This … is … AMAZING!!! A.’

Former England captain Wayne Rooney wrote on Instagram: ‘Get in. Come on @england. Well done lads.’

Former Spice Girl Geri Horner said: ‘Come on England! Well done.’

Comedian John Bishop tweeted: ‘Well that was satisfying … ‘

Prime Minister Boris Johnson shared a picture showing him celebrating Kane’s decisive goal.

He wrote: ‘Well done England! We’re all behind you – bring it home!’

Meanwhile, fans also shared their joy at England’s triumph. Anthony Robinson, 34 – who lives in London and works in finance – watched the match with his mother Sue Bedding, 59, at the fan zone in Trafalgar Square.

Ms Bedding, an NHS worker, said she had come down from her home city of Nottingham so she could watch the match with her son.

Mr Robinson said: ‘I feel ecstatic. You’ve got to be optimistic about things like this. In the first 15 to 20 minutes it didn’t look like anything was going to happen, but the second half was brilliant.

‘The atmosphere here was crazy. We’re definitely pleased we came here to watch it. We were going to go to a pub to watch it but just thought, if England win it, to be here to watch it in Trafalgar Square is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s the next best thing to going to Wembley.

‘The fact that we managed to win it in 90 minutes too and didn’t have to go to penalties is incredible.’

Ms Bedding said: ‘I’m made up, it’s been an absolutely brilliant night. I remember the ’96 match and I was completely gutted when we lost. So now I’m quite optimistic for the rest of the Euros.’

Following the Germany result, bookmakers Coral made England 2-1 favourites to win the tournament, cutting the Three Lions from 9-2. 

Earlier, Neuer’s team joined England players in taking the knee before the fixture in a stand against racism.

The protest act has been mired in controversy throughout the tournament, with the FA fearing unhappy crowds would boo players. But any discontent from spectators was drowned out by loud cheering from both sides on Tuesday.

The teams’ national anthems were a different story, with boos ringing out from the England-heavy crowd as Germany’s anthem played.

Both England captain Kane and his German counterpart Neuer wore rainbow armbands in support of Pride month during the showdown. 

Jack Grealish was dropped in favour of Kieran Trippier in the only major change by England boss Southgate ahead of the game. 

Germany meanwhile made three alterations, with Chelsea’s Timo Werner restored along with Leon Goretzka and Thomas Muller as Ilkay Gundogan, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane drop out of the side that drew 2-2 with Hungary. 

The Three Lions have been pragmatic but somewhat underwhelming en route to the knockout stages, claiming two wins and a draw from their three Group D encounters without conceding a goal.

They now renew their long-standing rivalry with Germany, who squeezed through Group F – or the ‘group of death’ – to set up the eagerly-anticipated fixture.  

Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer both urged employers to let their staff finish work early to watch the contest as football fans piled into pubs and thousands of supporters descended on Wembley and let off flares. 

Around 45,000 fans were allowed into Wembley to watch Southgate’s squad battle the Germans for a place in the quarter-finals from 5pm, while millions more headed to their local – with some even hitting the boozers from as early as 7am this morning.

Three people were arrested at Wembley Stadium during Tuesday’s match. Met Police confirmed one male was arrested for racially aggravated common assault, and two males were detained for fraud by false representation. 

The Prime Minister and Labour leader both called on bosses to let their staff finish early amid fears some will be stuck in the office at kick-off. 

Ahead of the match, Chancellor Rishi Sunak shared a photo of himself pulling on an England jersey with the caption: ‘Bring it on.’ 

With just over an hour to kick off Wembley Way was a riot of colour with flag waving fans patiently queuing to take their seats.

Long queues stretched from the entrances to the stadium as fans had to show proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow tests. Fans had been told to leave extra time to get into the ground to avoid missing the 5pm kick off. 

Excitable fans let off red and white flares as they massed outside the stadium. With no alcohol allowed to be brought inside the stadium, thousands stood in Wembley Way drinking from cans and soaking up the atmosphere.

Two German supporters draped in their national flag were ignored as the fans were more interested in singing terrace songs, some referencing the war. But when a larger group walked past waving a black, yellow and red flag they were met boos and showered with beer prompting police to escort them to the ground.

An inflatable Spitfire was tossed among the crowd with one fan climbing up a tree to lead the chants. 

The match is one of the most anticipated in recent memory, with fan parks sold out and more than five million pints expected to be bought. Supporters got into the swing of things early this morning with a beer garden in Sheffield filled with fans clutching pints and wearing England shirts at 7am. 

Meanwhile the Kirby housing estate in London was also draped in dozens of England flags ahead of the game, in scenes mirrored across the nation.  

Others took to social media to reveal they will be taking a sick day to ensure they can watch the match, with some lucky supporters revealing they will even be allowed to finish early by sympathetic bosses – meaning they will join around 22 million English fans set to tune in.  

And one fan keen to join in on the fun wrote on Twitter: ‘I’ve got a stomach ache on the morning that England face Germany. I think my boss would kill me if I phoned in sick today! But I’m feeling [sick]. Damnit! Come on England!’