Sevilla fans party on their way to UEFA’s ‘Super Spreader’ Cup… but Bayern fans stay at home

Sevilla fans have been filmed in a party atmosphere as thousands of fans make their way to Budapest for the UEFA Super Cup final against Bayern Munich, amid fears that the game could turn into football’s ‘super-spreader event’. 

Thursday’s clash between the Champions League and Europa League winners is going ahead at Puskas Arena in Budapest with around 20,000 tickets allocated for fans to watch the game live despite the fact that it is in the centre of a coronavirus hotspot.

And footage shows Sevilla fans singing jubilantly on a packed plane to the Hungarian capital, which has been labelled as a ‘risk area’ by the Robert Koch Institute in Germany. Little to no social distancing is evident from the footage. 

Up to 3,000 Spanish fans are going to Hungary to watch the UEFA Super Cup final

The Hungarian capital has seen a surge in coronavirus cases and has been labelled a risk area 

It is set to be the most attended event in world sport since Covid-19 put a halt to almost all public events in Europe back in March, but there are concerns that the event could transcend into a ‘super-spreader event’, putting thousands at risk. 

Bayern Munich had been allocated 3,000 tickets, as have Sevilla for the showpiece event, although it is believed that less than 1,000 German supporters will travel to watch Hans Dieter-Flick’s side play. Another 14,000 tickets are available for Hungarians. 

Gergely Karácsony, mayor of the host city, had previously stressed that he would prefer the game to be played behind closed doors, and would have sought to do so had he been afforded the legal authority.  

Around 30 per cent of Puskas Arena’s 67,000 capacity has been allocated for the final

Many fans cancelled plans to travel to Budapest after Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder warned against travelling to the ‘biological bomb’. 

‘My stomach hurts thinking about the Super Cup,’ Soder warned fans. ‘Budapest is a risk area. There is a high incidence of infections and we have to be very, very careful that we do not risk a football Ischgl.’

Ischgl is a ski resort village in Austria where at least 6,000 people are believed to have contracted coronavirus. It has been dubbed ‘Ibiza on ice’ and has been used as a byword for anywhere that Covid-19 infections spiral out of control. 

Bayern have offered fans travelling to Budapest free coronavirus tests until Saturday afternoon, two days after the completion of the game between the German and Spanish clubs, according to RTL. 

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder is fearful the game could spread coronavirus 

Bayern Munich have offered free coronavirus testing for returning fans from Budapest

The club have set up a testing area at the Allianz Arena, where returnees are able to get a free test and will receive their results by email. The 14-day quarantine period can be bypassed in the case of a negative test result.  

It follows from a recent surge in cases in Bavaria, which led to the abandonment of plans for fans to return to the Allianz Arena to watch Bayern demolish Schalke 8-0 in their Bundesliga season opener. 

Last week, authorities in Germany announced a uniform policy that would see a maximum capacity of 20 per cent permitted into arenas to watch football matches. However, there are concerns that the new policy may have come too soon. 

‘It would send the wrong signal [to allow fans],’ Munich’s mayor, Dieter Reiter, said in a statement before the game.

‘It’s bitter for the fans and club, I am aware of it. But the crisis is not over yet. We all need to be aware of it.’