Lincoln sports bar puts COVID jab and test restrictions for Euros punters

Lincoln student and sports bar ‘Towers’ is now insisting that anyone visiting for any upcoming England matches during Euro 2020 will need to provide proof of a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours before the event, or of having both doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

Entry will be refused to anyone who cannot provide proof of this on the night, as England prepare for their next match – a quarter-final clash against Ukraine at 8pm on Saturday, July 3.

People were seen queuing up to two hours before the match at Towers, which is located next to The Engine Shed (formerly Tower Bar), opened at 2pm on Tuesday, June 29 ahead of England’s victorious match against Germany.

It seems it was a very busy afternoon and evening for Towers, but it has not been publicly revealed what prompted them to take this latest step, with no other venues in the city apparently enforcing such restrictions.

Towers posted a statement on Facebook, which only appears to apply to England games and not matches involving other countries at Euro 2020.

It read: “In the interests of everyone’s safety, everyone who is visiting Towers during any upcoming England matches will need to provide proof of a negative covid test taken within 48 hours before the event proof of having both doses of the vaccine.

“This will need to be evidenced via the NHS app or in a text or email from the NHS confirming your test/vaccine status. Proof of negative lateral flow or PCR tests via email/ text can be accepted also.

“Entry will be refused to anyone who cannot provide proof of this on the night.”

The Student Union later said: “As England progress through the tournament, we have decided to introduce additional safety measures for all those attending the England Euro 2020 matches in our venue to reassure our staff members and customers.

“Towers and Engine Shed are and have been, operating in a covid secure manner in line with government regulations. Our security team supervises these regulations; however, we wanted to take additional steps to ensure the safety of all of our staff and customers.

“We are not aware of any recorded positive cases at Towers. It is a management decision to implement this condition of entry after reviewing our risk assessments for these events.”

The SU is already selling tickets to England’s next match for the big screen at The Engine Shed, starting from £50 for tables of no more than six people. Student tickets require a log-in and the ones for the public are showing as sold out.