England Nations League Clash With Iceland Under Threat Due to UK Ban on Denmark Travel

England’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Iceland could be in danger of being forfeited as a result of the UK’s current ban on all travel from Denmark, where the Icelandic team is due to play a few days before arriving in London.

There are concerns over a mutated form of coronavirus found on mink farms in Denmark and the possible spread to humans, leading the UK government to impose rules that will stop any non-UK citizens from entering the country from Denmark.

Even UK citizens must self-isolate upon returning from Denmark and there are no exceptions.

England have already played Denmark home and away in this Nations League campaign, taking only one point from a possible six, but the knock-on effect is from Iceland’s fixture list.

Iceland are playing in Copenhagen on 15 November and, as things stand, that game still has the green light to go ahead. Three days later, Iceland are due in London to face England.

If the ban on all travel from Denmark is still in place, that game may not happen as intended.

If the Iceland team is banned from entering the UK and the game doesn’t go ahead, England would likely have to forfeit the contest as the chances of it being re-arranged and played another time are slim owing to the already heavily congested fixture schedule.

It would likely be the difference between England making the Nations League finals next summer or not, although the matter appears rather trivial when in the context of protecting public health.

The rules on travel and quarantining have previously exempted elite athletes, but that is not the case this time. It remains to be seen whether Iceland players, having been in Denmark, would be allowed to enter the UK via a different country. If they are, it defeats the point of banning travel.

The only other option would be to propose a hastily arranged neutral venue outside the UK for the game to take place. But then whether the England players would be allowed freely back into the country without the need for 14 days of mandatory self-isolation also could come into it.

The knock-on from that would impact Premier League clubs once domestic games resume.

Denmark are due to face Sweden in a friendly in Brondby, before Iceland in Copenhagen and then travelling to Belgium. But it is thought that UK-based players will not be linking up with the squad.

There were seven players at English clubs named in the squad for this month’s games – Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham), Jannik Vestergaard (Southampton), Jonas Lossl (Everton), Henrik Dalsgaard and Mathias Jensen (both Brentford) – but each is unlikely to make the trip…until later on, at least.

It is thought that the players based in England could link up with the Danish squad in Belgium and not fall foul of the quarantine rules upon returning to the UK afterwards. That is despite being in contact with teammates who have travelled from Denmark. The squad would be in a secure bubble anyway, which then begs the question why the previous exceptions aren’t in place.

The Danish association has already called up nine additional players to cover the initial shortfall.

Looking further ahead, Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Midtjylland on 9 December has also come into the sphere of doubt.

It is impossible to say what the situation will be like by then, given that the game is still a month away. But if the current rules are still in place without exceptions, the Reds would not be able to play in Denmark and then freely return to the UK without considerable isolation.

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