England allowed to host Iceland in Nations League after government exemption

England were on Thursday granted permission to host next week’s Nations League match against Iceland at Wembley after the UK Government issued a travel exemption for their opponents.

It had been feared England would not be able to stage Wednesday’s game because of coronavirus issues surrounding Iceland’s match against Denmark in Copenhagen on Sunday.

Denmark has been subject of a travel ban since November 7 due to concerns over a new strain of Covid-19, putting the Wembley encounter in doubt as the Football Association looked at hosting the game in Germany.

It was reported Albania was another option put forward by UEFA, but London has now been given the green light to host the match.

“We are pleased to confirm that following discussions with the relevant authorities next Wednesday’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Iceland will go ahead at Wembley Stadium,” an FA statement said.

The Government exemption was announced on Thursday evening, when it was confirmed that the travel ban on Denmark had been extended “for a further 14 days following an outbreak of coronavirus in mink farms”.

The Department for Transport said: “The government has also announced a limited exemption for a small number of Danish and Icelandic national football players to travel from the UK to Copenhagen and back, without the need to self-isolate, to take part in upcoming international football fixtures.

“This temporary and extremely limited exemption will allow the relevant players and essential staff support to be exempt from the new requirements and will help reduce any disruption for England’s upcoming Nations League fixtures.”