Travel restrictions in Spain due to the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie between Spanish La Liga side Real Sociedad and Manchester United to be moved to a new venue.

The match initially meant for Thursday, 18 February at the Real Seguros Stadium in San Sébastian has now been moved to the Allianz stadium in Turin, albeit the date did not change.

The Allianz Stadium in Turin is the home ground of Italian Seria A Champions Juventus. Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium will host the second leg on Thursday 25 February.

Real Sociedad is sixth on the La Liga table with 35 points from 22 matches played.

The Basque side finished second behind Napoli in the Europa League group that had AZ Alkmaar and Rijeka.

Sociedad defeated Cadiz 4-1 in the La Liga after been held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal last week.

Their next game is at Getafe in the La Liga at the weekend before facing Manchester United in the Europa League on 18 of February.

A new variant of the COVID-19 in the UK has forced countries, especially in Europe, to ban travels and travelers from the UK.

The change of the match venue is coming after Liverpool, and Manchester City both had Champions League last-16 first-leg matches against RB Leipzig, and Borrusia Monchengladbach in Germany moved to Budapest, Hungary.

Other La Liga clubs in the Europa League, Villarreal and Granada will face RB Salzburg and Napoli in the Round of 32 without a change of venue yet.

UEFA Champions League Real Madrid will face Italian side Atalanta, while Barcelona will play Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, Sevilla will tackle Dortmund, and Atletico Madrid will play Chelsea.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu