(Reuters) – UEFA has moved this season’s Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA said in a statement on Friday.
UEFA said home matches of Ukrainian and Russian clubs and teams competing in UEFA competitions would be played at neutral venues “until further notice”.
The board thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his “personal support and commitment” in taking over the venue for the tournament’s final.
It added that it would “fully support the multi-stakeholder efforts to secure the rescue of footballers and their families in Ukraine who are facing appalling human suffering, destruction and displacement.”
The Champions League final was scheduled to take place at the Zenit Stadium in Saint Petersburg on May 28, with thousands of fans from across the continent waiting to watch the match which is the biggest show of European football.
“It is a pity that such a decision was taken. St. Petersburg could have provided all the favorable conditions for the holding of this football festival,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
British Culture Secretary Nadine Doris, who is responsible for sport, backed the UEFA decision.
“I welcome the decisive action taken by UEFA to remove St Petersburg from hosting this year’s Champions League final,” he said.
“Russia must not be allowed to take advantage of sporting and cultural events on the world stage to legitimize its unjustified, deliberate and unnecessary attack against a sovereign democratic state.”
Petersburg Stadium is known as Gazprom Stadium after a sponsorship deal with Russia’s state energy company, which also sponsors the UEFA Champions League and Euro 2024, two tournaments promoted by UEFA.
The latest move 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.
The lawmakers also called on the entity to end Gazprom’s sponsorship of the continent’s elite club competition. But Friday’s UEFA statement made no mention of Gazprom.
The 2023 Champions League Final will be played in Istanbul, Wembley in London the following year and Allianz Arena in Munich host the final in 2025.
(Additional reporting by Simon Evans in Manchester, Dmitriy Antonov in Moscow and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru)
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