Hungary closed to most, open to fans for soccer's Super Cup

For first UEFA-organized game in six months with fans inside stadium, European soccer body detailed on Monday its demands for Super Cup in Budapest despite Hungary closing its borders to most n-residents during pandemic.

Medical examinations plus proof of a negative test for COVID-19 in previous three days for fans entering Hungary, and mandatory mask wearing at stadium are new reality.

Champions League winner Bayern Munich will play Europa League winner Sevilla on Sept. 24, and UEFA hopes around 20,000 fans will be at 67,000-capacity Puskás Aréna in Hungary's capital.

Bayern and Sevilla fans could attend ir title-winning games last month in, respectively, Portugal and Germany.

Super Cup is “a pilot to bring fans back to stadiums in current COVID-19 pandemic situation,” UEFA said in a statement

For Super Cup, fans must stay away if y have any COVID-19 symptoms or were in contact with an infected person in previous 14 days.

At Puskás Aréna, fans must undergo body temperature checks on arriving, maintain a 1.5-meter distance from ors in all areas, and remain in ir allocated seat 1.5 meters apart.

Each club will be allocated 3,000 tickets and fans entering Hungary “may undergo an obligatory medical examination during ir entry,” UEFA said.

y must also show ir match ticket and proof of a recent test result in “a Hungarian or English langu document, containing results of molecular biological test.”

Ticket-holders must also leave Hungary within 72 hours of arriving, UEFA said.

Hungary is making an exception for international soccer games despite closing its borders to n-residents except in what it called “justified cases.”

border policy brought in by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has been questioned by European Union of which it is a member.

Orbán is a rewned lover of soccer, and oversaw rebuilding Puskás Aréna which will host games at UEFA’s rescheduled 2020 European Championship next year.

Hungarian soccer federation -- led by Sándor Csányi , a billionaire banker, who is a vice president of UEFA and FIFA -- was awarded hosting rights in June to Super Cup. It previously was to be played in Portugal, which was awarded hosting rights to rescheduled Champions League mini-tournament.

UEFA executive committee, including Csányi, is scheduled to have a rare in-person meeting in Budapest ahead of game.

UEFA is also using Hungary as an option as a neutral venue for games this month in qualifying for Champions League and Europa League which cant be played in home team’s country.

Hungary, a nation of 9.7 million people, has reported 625 deaths up to Monday because of COVID-19, according to tallies kept by Johns Hopkins University.