Omicron: Manchester United drop plans for Hong Kong preseason trip after authorities refuse to relax quarantine rules
- HKFA chief Pui Kwan-kay says the reluctance to relax safety measures for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford is a major reason for the collapse of talks
- Reports say Manchester United, Liverpool and Crystal Palace will now play in Thailand and Singapore this summer
Hong Kong has been denied the chance to host English Premier League giants Manchester United and their star player Cristiano Ronaldo this summer because authorities are unable to relax anti-coronavirus restrictions, including two weeks of quarantine, a top official said.
Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) chairman Pui Kwan-kay said United, one of the world’s biggest sports teams, especially in Asia, were keen to play in Hong Kong but talks broke down over Covid-19 quarantine requirements.
“They showed interest in coming to Hong Kong this summer and of course we welcome them because Manchester United has a great following here and there is no need to worry about the gate receipts,” Pui said. “Also, we want to instil more positive energy into the community during these hard times under the pandemic and an exciting international football match can certainly do the job.
“However, the deal eventually fell through as the authorities were unable to make any promises on relaxing the strict quarantine requirements for overseas visitors, even if the match will not take place until several months later. And in the end the Premier League side of course chose not to come because no team can spare that amount of time for quarantine before playing a match.”
Hong Kong has some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 laws as the city battles a fifth wave of infections, including two weeks of quarantine for visitors from the United Kingdom. Hong Kong’s stance comes as many countries start to open their borders in an attempt to “live with the virus”.
It has been reported that United will travel to Asia this summer to play fellow Premier League side Liverpool in a preseason friendly in Bangkok in July before travelling to Australia to face Crystal Palace. Liverpool, meanwhile, will meet Palace in Singapore in another exhibition match.
“Hong Kong is always a popular trip for Premier League sides to conduct preseason tours but because of the quarantine requirements, there is little we can do,” said Pui. “Many countries have or plan to open their borders despite the pandemic but unfortunately we still stick to a dynamic zero infection strategy, which make things difficult for us.”
At the 2017 Premier League Asia Trophy, four English clubs: Liverpool, Leicester City, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion, appeared in Hong Kong for the eighth edition of the tournament. The 40,000 seat Hong Kong Stadium was packed on both competition days with Liverpool taking home the trophy after defeating Leicester City 2-1 in the final through goals from Mohamed Salah and Coutinho.