Croatia to welcome thousands of children for England match despite stadium ban

Croatia will have a sizeable crowd for their Nations League meeting with England despite being ordered to play behind closed doors.

The match, part of the third round of the competition, will take place at Stadion Rujevica in Rijeka.

Croatia were given a home-match spectator ban after racist chanting directed at France during the previous edition of the Nations League. However, the punishment does not prevent every category of attendee from entering the stadium.

Stadion Rujevica has a capacity of 8,279, and about 6,100 people are expected to attend the fixture. That would represent 75% of the ground’s available capacity.

The Athletic has reported how the Croatian Football Federation plans to work within the terms of the sanction.

Article 73 of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations sets out several exceptions for matches played behind closed doors. Those exemptions generally cover people attending in a professional capacity, including media representatives, security personnel, stadium employees and UEFA representatives.

The regulations also allow local children under the age of 14 to attend, provided they are accompanied by an adult.

The specific exemption permits “children up to the age of 14 (accompanied by an adult) from schools and/or football academies invited to the match free of charge” to be present.

As a result, Croatia can bring thousands of youngsters into the Rijeka stadium for the match against England while still complying with the imposed ban.