Tickets for Ferencváros’ Champions League home matches against Barcelona, Juventus, and Dynamo Kyiv sold out on Sunday. The government recently decreed that masks must be worn at open-air events including matches, but this does not seem to be enforced.
Ferencváros recently qualified for the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in 25 years. They will play their first home match against Dinamo Kyiv on October 28th in Groupama Arena. Subsequently, Juventus and Barcelona will play Ferencváros in Puskás Arena on November 4th and December 2nd, respectively.
Tickets went on sale last Monday and were sold in several rounds. The club’s most avid fans got to buy theirs first. Overall, the more stalwart a supporter you were, the earlier you got to buy tickets. UEFA has decreed that up to 30% of a stadium’s capacity may be filled with spectators. Consequently, 6,600 people will be able to attend the match in Groupama Arena, while Puskás Arena will seat 20,164 fans. Given the surge of coronavirus cases in recent weeks, one might rightly wonder whether this poses an excessive infection risk.
The government made mask-wearing compulsory at matches last Thursday due to the rise in cases. During Ferencváros’ derby against their archrivals Újpest last weekend, spectators were therefore already supposed to be wearing masks. However, since this ruling was apparently not being enforced, as the picture below illustrates, many of them either did not wear masks, or did so improperly.
Many spectators were not wearing masks during the match, or were wearing them improperly with their masks below their noses. Photo by Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI.
Seeing as there will be thousands or tens of thousands of fans at FTC’s Champions League matches, if the ruling is not enforced, many could become infected. If they do not want matches to become coronavirus hotspots, UEFA might have to change its ruling, or the government may need to enforce its own decree more aggressively.
Featured photo illustration by Szilárd Koszticsák /MTI