Croatia and England are set to contest their UEFA Nations League match on Saturday, Oct. 3 behind closed doors, but an exception could still allow the Blazers to be well-supported.
Croatia will play its first home match since the 2026 World Cup against England with no fans in attendance after UEFA, the governing body for soccer in Europe, announced sanctions for bad fan behavior. Traveling fans at a 2025 UEFA Nations League match in France lit off flares and firecrackers. Seven fans were taken into custody on suspicion of performing Nazi salutes, though they were later released for lack of evidence.
Still, UEFA announced sanctions including a ban on traveling Croatia fans for Nations League matches earlier this window and the fixture with England
taking place with no crowd.
Who is attending Croatia vs. England despite the ban?
While UEFA has banned most fans from attending, the disciplinary code allows an exception for eight groups. That includes the team delegations, journalists, police and security, and the final section, "children up to the age of 14 (duly accompanied) from schools and/or football academies invited to the match free of charge (also applicable in the event of a partial stadium closure)"
That means the HNK Rijeka Stadium, which seats just over 8,000 fans, could be full of children and those looking after them.
Traveling England supporters also were set to be kept out, but, after discussions with UEFA in September, the England Supporters Travel Club was able to secure 100 complementary tickets.
It should create an interesting atmosphere with a small group of traveling fans cheering on their team and a large group of children rooting for the home squad.
On the field, both England and Croatia have fallen to Spain in Nations League action, while the Three Lions bounced back with a 2-0 win over Czechia. Croatia beat the Czechs, 2-1.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Croatia vs England be played in empty stadium? UEFA fan ban explained
