Manchester United v Young Boys in Champions League to be played at Old Trafford

 

Manchester United's Champions League game against Young Boys on 8 December will not move from Old Trafford after Swiss authorities allowed the visitors to skip quarantine on their return.

Covid-19 restrictions around the new Omicron variant meant Young Boys were facing 10 days enforced isolation.

Uefa rules say a new venue or a new date should be found in such scenarios.

Youngs Boys will stay in a "strictly separated bubble" for the duration of their time in England.

Youngs Boys said they "would like to thank the Canton of Bern for the flexibility and the exemption and will do everything in its power to continue to act as a role model".

United have already qualified as Group F winners but Young Boys could still secure a place in the Europa League if they repeat their victory over the Premier League side in September.

If the game had been moved, it would have potentially cost United millions of pounds in lost gate receipts.

A 10-day isolation period would have forced Youngs Boys to reschedule or forfeit league matches against Sion and Basel and potentially play Lugano on 19 December, the day their quarantine came to an end.

Switzerland is among a number of European countries to reimpose coronavirus restrictions amid a surge in cases across the continent, with sporting events also affected.

West Ham's Europa League tie against Rapid Vienna in Austria last week was played behind closed doors as part of a new national lockdown, while all matches in the Netherlands are being played without fans after a partial lockdown was introduced earlier in November.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich's game at home to Barcelona in the Champions League on 8 December could be played behind closed doors.

Markus Soder, the Minister-President of Bavaria, which includes Munich, has said he plans to prevent fans from attending sports events in the German state because of a rise in coronavirus infections - although he did not give a timetable for bringing in such measures.

"Football matches should be without spectators again. Bavaria will do that," Soder said on Twitter.

"Football has a great role model function. We must now reduce contacts everywhere."

Bayern have qualified for the knockout stages as Group E winners, with Barcelona and Benfica battling it out for the runners-up spot that will also secure a last-16 place. Benfica play Dynamo Kyiv in their final game in the same group.