UCL final WON'T move to Wembley despite Turkey will lockdown to stop Covid surge

UEFA is urgently seeking reports from Turkey after the country went into lockdown in a bid to stem a surge in coronavirus cases just five weeks before the Champions League final is due to be played there.

Turkish residents will be required to stay mostly at home under a nationwide 'full lockdown' starting on Thursday and lasting until May 17, President Tayyip Erdogan has announced.

The Champions League final is due to take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on May 29. At least 9,000 fans were expected to attend, with supporters from both clubs due to be present.

However, yet again the European football governing body's plans have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and officials are now scrambling to assess the situation in Turkey.

The first legs of the semi finals of the competition take place this week, with Chelsea taking on Real Madrid and Manchester City playing Paris Saint-Germain.

UEFA has ruled out moving the game to Wembley for the benefit of the finalists, should Manchester City and Chelsea navigate their semi-finals and meet in the final.

It is up to the Turkish authorities to decide if fans will be allowed to attend the showpiece in Istanbul next month.

Even if no supporters can attend, UEFA may allow the game to go ahead in Istanbul without fans. Last year's final, in which Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 was also played in front of empty stands at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

It remains to be seen if this year's final could move on health grounds.

The lockdown comes after the country recorded 37,312 new covid infections and 353 deaths in 24 hours.

While these figures are down on recent data, Turkey still has the world's fourth highest number of cases and is ranked worst on a per-capita basis among major nations, according to Reuters.

Announcing the new measures after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said all intercity travel would require official approval, all schools would shut and lessons moved online, and a strict capacity limit would be imposed for users of public transport.

Last year's final was due to be played at the Ataturk Stadium too, but it was moved to Lisbon as part of a 'final-eight tournament', which took place in August, consisting of single-match knockout ties played in two stadiums across the city.