Wembley Loses 2010 Champions League Final To The Bernabeau

By Football Daft at 28 March, 2008, 1:30 pm

Wembley Stadium has lost out on the chance to host the 2010 Champions League final to Real Madrids Bernabeau Stadium because of tax reasons.

Wembley was discounted after failing to provide assurances that players competing in the final would not be taxed by the British government.

Rival bids from Munich and Berlin were also overlooked, while Arsenal lost out to Hamburg for the 2010 Uefa Cup final.

An FA spokesman told BBC Sport: “We believe that Wembley is a very compelling bid and Uefa have acknowledged this.

“We are hopeful that the tax situation can be resolved to Uefa’s satisfaction before the final decision is taken.”

A British Treasury spokesman said in a statement: “The UK has hosted many sporting events in the past and there has been no change in the tax rules or the way they are applied.

“There appears to be some misunderstanding here and we will obviously be speaking to Uefa to clarify the position and reassure them that the rules have not changed.”

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