Rome, July 3 Italian authorities stepped up COVID-19 controls on soccer fans coming from Britain ahead of the UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-final that saw England play Ukraine at the Stadio Olimpico here on Saturday evening.
Strengthened checks were ordered at the city's two airports, train stations, and highways from July 1, and at five checkpoints set up around the stadium.
The England v Ukraine match took place in a stadium filled at 25 per cent capacity, or about 16,000 spectators, in accordance with the current rules, Xinhua reports.
Despite restricted crowd, further restrictive measures for this match were deemed necessary by the authorities due to recent rise in coronavirus cases in UK, including those linked to the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
According to the regulations, only people holding "a certification in Italian language showing...a negative COVID-19 test carried out in the 48 hours ahead of the event (match)" would be allowed to enter the Olimpico.
The only alternative was a European green pass which proves that the person is fully immunised after two doses of a vaccine.
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