UEFA moved the Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris
UEFA has moved this year’s Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA said in a statement on Friday.
UEFA also said that home matches of Ukrainian and Russian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will be played at neutral venues “until further notice”.
The board thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his “personal support and commitment” in facing the final.
It added that it would “fully support the efforts of multiple stakeholders to ensure the provision of rescue to football players and their families in Ukraine who are facing dire humanitarian suffering and displacement.”
The 2021/202 Men’s Champions League Final will move from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
The game will play as tentatively scheduled on Saturday 28th May at 21:00 CET.
Full statement:
UEFA (UEFA) 25 February 2022 The UEFA Champions League Final was scheduled to take place at Zenit St Petersburg on 28 May with thousands of fans from across the continent expected to attend the exhibition match in European football.
St Petersburg is better known as Gazprom Stadium after a sponsorship deal with Russia’s state energy company, which also sponsors the Champions League and national team competition Euro 2024.
The move to strip St Petersburg from the final follows calls from a group of European lawmakers who on Thursday asked UEFA to change the stadium and stop considering the participation of Russian cities in major international football competitions.
Lawmakers have also asked the European Football Association (UEFA) to end Gazprom’s sponsorship of the continent’s elite club competition. But Friday’s UEFA statement made no mention of Gazprom.
The 2023 UEFA Champions League Final is scheduled to take place in Istanbul, with Wembley hosting in London the following year and the Allianz Arena in Munich to host the final in 2025.
(Reuters)
