Euro 2020: Can Wales fans travel to Amsterdam?

For the second European Championships in a row, Wales have made it through to the last 16 of the competition.

The team led by Gareth Bale will take on Denmark after the latter's rousing 4-1 victory against Russia on Monday.

But the game is in the Netherlands... so can fans go and watch it?

The short, sad answer is no. The Dutch government has already said the UK is not on its list of safe countries, meaning its citizens are not allowed to travel to the Netherlands.

Dutch police in Amsterdam have said they will not be letting Wales fans into the country.

The Netherlands is also on the UK government's amber list of countries, meaning travel there is not advised.

People returning from there to Wales would have to take a pre-travel Covid test, self-isolate for 10 days and take tests on day two and day eight.

Again, if you are a UK citizen normally resident in Wales, or elsewhere in the UK, you are not allowed in to the Netherlands even if you are coming from Italy, which is on the Netherlands' safe list of countries.

Hundreds of fans had travelled to Rome for Wales' final group match against Italy on Saturday.

The only way you could go from Italy to the Netherlands as a Wales fan is if you live in Italy full-time.

At last some good news. Yes, you can! According to the information on the Netherlands government website, if you live in a safe country you may travel to Amsterdam. "It does not not matter what your nationality or the purpose of your trip is," it states.

So if you live in many (although not all) of the EU or Schengen area countries, at least you can go and cheer on the team. Assuming you can get a ticket of course - we can't help with that one.

Before you complain that it's unfair Denmark will be able to have fans present at the match - they won't either.

Sadly for the Danes, Denmark is also not on the Netherlands' safe countries' list, so the same restrictions apply to them as fans living in Wales, even though they are in the EU.

Or so we understood on Monday. The stop press news on Tuesday seems to be they might be able to get in on a technicality, at least according to the director of Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Citizen Service, Erik Brogger Rasmussen.

He told a press conference Danish fans could technically avoid quarantine in the Netherlands if they entered and exited within 12 hours, under a rule allowing travellers with a ticket or quarantine declaration showing their stay is shorter than that period of time to enter the country without needing to go into self-quarantine.

However, he later clarified to BBC Wales that the Danish government was advising fans not to travel, adding: "We do that partly because the Dutch government strongly advise to self-quarantine for 10 days upon arriving in the Netherlands if you stay longer than 12 hours."

The Dutch government has previously said the 12-hour rule would not apply to Wales' fans because the UK is outside the EU/Schengen area, unless they fall into an exemption category, but this does not include being a football supporter.

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford rebuffed calls from the Welsh Conservatives on Tuesday afternoon to lobby the Dutch government to allow fans from Wales to travel, following the seemingly "changing circumstances for Danish fans".

Speaking in the Senedd he said the advice not to travel had not changed and he was "hugely grateful" to the many fans who had not gone abroad to watch the team play.

It's the best place to be a resident right now if you're part of the "Red Wall".

One of them is Anthony Lewis, originally from Llanelli but living just outside Amsterdam.

A teacher at an international school in The Hague, he has "quite a few" colleagues who are Welsh.

He has yet to get a ticket but has put out feelers, he told BBC Radio Wales.

"I'm optimistic I'll get a ticket somehow. If not I'll just be at Amsterdam to enjoy the atmosphere," he said.

"Our Celtic friends within the school have also jumped on the bandwagon, so we're growing in numbers."

Um.... it's not looking likely at the moment.

Despite Health Minister Eluned Morgan saying the Welsh government would consider allowing it if a council came forward with a proposal, so far none have.

Of the 14 councils who have replied to a BBC question on the subject - Anglesey, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Cardiff, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr, Monmouthshire, Newport Rhondda Cynon Taf, Powys and Wrexham - not one is planning anything.

However, behavioural expert Dr Simon Williams of Swansea University says having zones in place could actually help reduce risky behaviour and therefore cut the risk of spreading Covid.

He told BBC Radio Wales: " We know that people are going to get together, so why not set up these fan zones in ways that can encourage people to do so more safely, although that is the key point, to do it in the proper way."

By using track and trace, organised events could help monitor any potential spread of the virus.

"We do know in Wales and beyond that adherence with measures has gone down over the last few months, whether that's because vaccine rates have been increasing and people feel less of a personal risk, or whether the measures are becoming increasingly confusing, or people are simply just getting tired of all the restrictions, we do know that compliance is going down.

"There are tendencies to mix in these environments but at least you do have that oversight," he added.

If Wales manage to overcome Denmark - which is no small undertaking on the evidence of the Danes' performance on Monday - the team is back on a plane to Baku.

Yes, the Azerbaijan capital will become something of a second home for the squad this summer if they make it to the quarter-finals, having played two of their three group games there.

Like the Netherlands, Azerbaijan is on the UK's amber list for Covid, advising against all but essential travel, so self-isolation rules on return apply.

Foreigners entering the country are supposed to have been vaccinated, but this requirement has been waived for holders of Euro 2020 tickets.

And if we get into 2016 dreamland territory and make it through to the semi-finals (hey, it's happened once before, why not?) that match and the final are currently scheduled for Wembley, despite calls for the final to be moved because of rising Covid rates.