Euro 2020: ‘Unfair fans from Italy, Spain will not be able to attend semifinal at Wembley’- Italy boss Roberto Mancini

Italy head coach Roberto Mancini on Tuesday questioned the crowd rules at Wembley stadium in London for the Euro 2020 semifinals and final, describing it as “pretty unfair”. Over 60,000 fans are allowed to attend the three final games at the stadium in London, with UEFA, after consultation with the UK government, increasing the attendance to 75 percent of capacity. (Euro 2020 Full Coverage)

But the travel restrictions between the UK and other European countries still exist as part of Covid protocols, which means most of the fans from Italy and Spain will be unable to attend the Euro 2020 semifinal on Tuesday between the two countries.

Also read: UEFA Euro 2020 semifinal, Italy vs Spain preview: A battle of European elite

Speaking to Goal.com before the big clash, Italy boss Roberto Mancini did not refrain from expressing his views on the situation and said that he would have liked it if the stadium was filled with Italy and Spain football fans.

“I think it’s pretty unfair if I’m perfectly honest,” Mancini said.

“We’re better off playing in front of any crowd as opposed to playing in front of a small number of people; that’s what’s great about football and entertainment in general. But I do think it’s very unfair that we don’t have half the stadium full of Italian fans and half the stadium full of Spaniards,” he added.

It means the only supporters of either side will be those who are already based in the UK, with the majority likely to be neutrals.

The last time when both teams met in Euros, Italy eliminated La Roja with a 2-0 win in the 2016 round of 16. Azzuri has won each of their last 13 international matches. Their dizzying pace and killer finishing proved too much for a talented Belgium team last time out.

(With ANI inputs)