Fans will be allowed to attend the Europa League final in Gdansk later this month, after UEFA reached an agreement over spectators with the Polish government.
The European football governing body says that 9,500 supporters will be allowed into the 40,000-seat Gdansk Stadium on May 26, as revealed by Sportsmail last week.
And 6,000 tickets will be available to fans and members of the public, raising the exciting prospect that Manchester United and Arsenal supporters could be at the game, if they both emerge from their semi-finals.
Gdansk Stadium in Poland is due to host the Europa League final on May 26 this year
Each club in the final will be allocated 2,000 tickets, but fans may also get their hands on some of the 2,000 that go on general sale.
The remainder of the tickets will be supplied to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters.
Manchester United have all but secured their spot in the final, having thrashed Roma 6-2 in the first leg of their semi at Old Trafford, last week. They travel to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Thursday to complete the job.
Arsenal have a lot more work to do, however, in their semi-final against Villarreal. The Gunners trail 2-1 after the first leg and will seek to overturn the deficit at the Emirates Stadium later this week.
UEFA says it will limit ticket sales to two per person and each one will be personalised.
Ticket prices for the game range from £35 to £112 and fans will find out by May 14 if their application has been successful.
Currently, government travel restrictions prevent UK nationals travelling abroad for holidays, including Poland.
Transport minister Grant Shapps has not confirmed foreign travel can resume on May 17
The earliest possible date for foreign travel to resume is May 17, but that has not been confirmed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Even if travel restrictions are eased, the viability of travel to Poland for some fans may depend on the UK government’s traffic light system.
Countries will be designated a colour, red, amber, or green, which will determine the quarantine requirements on their return to the UK.
‘Red countries’ would require returning travellers returning to quarantine in a government-approved hotel, while an amber rating would mean people have to self isolate at home for 10 days.
Manchester United and Arsenal could play in the Europa League final in front of 9,500 fans
Today, Boris Johnson poured some cold water on holiday – and Europa League – hopes, warning that putting lots of countries on the ‘green list’ from May 17 could risk an ‘influx of disease’.
The PM insisted the government will be ‘cautious’ amid bitter Cabinet wrangling over how far to loosen the border restrictions this month.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and chief medical officer Chris Whitty are said to be among those pushing for quarantine-free states to be kept to an absolute minimum.
‘We do want to do some opening up on May 17 but I don’t think that the people of this country want to see an influx of disease from anywhere else,’ the Prime Minister told reporters on a visit to Hartlepool.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is taking a cautious approach to foreign travel this month
‘I certainly don’t and we have got to be very, very tough, and we have got to be as cautious as we can, whilst we continue to open up.’
In terms of travel from the UK to Poland, UK nationals arriving in the country can be exempt from 10 days self-isolation, if they take a test for coronavirus on arrival and it is negative.
Poland has suffered high rates of coronavirus infection in recent months, but it has avoided a third wave of the pandemic, which has affected other European countries, and cases are falling rapidly.
Last week, Sportsmail reported that public health experts were very concerned about the prospect of English fans travelling to Turkey for the Champions League final, where infection rates are among the highest in Europe, but less anxious about Poland and the Europa League.
According to data from John Hopkins University, there are currently 177 cases of coronavirus in Poland, per one million people, compared to 32 in the UK. In addition, almost a quarter of the Polish population has received at least one does of vaccine, compared to around a half in the UK.
By comparison, Turkey is still reporting 415 cases of coronavirus per one million people and only 16 per cent of the population have had a vaccine.