It was a popular cry, Saint Petersburg should not host the 2021/2022 Champions League final after Russia invaded Ukraine and the war began. The UEFA Executive Committee has met this Friday in an extraordinary way and has decided to take away the final of the highest European competition from the Russian country and the chosen venue is Paris.
The Gallic country has prevailed over the other two options that sounded very strong: Wembley in England and La Cartuja in Seville where the Europa League final will be played.
In addition, in this meeting the UEFA Committee has also decided that the matches of the Ukrainian and Russian teams will be played at a neutral venue when they have to play as locals, so the Russian national team has not been excluded from any competition organized by UEFA.
The body chaired by Alexander Ceferin has issued a statement announcing the measures and does not rule out meeting on future occasions to take new measures depending on how events evolve.
Full statement from UEFA:
“The UEFA Executive Committee held an extraordinary meeting today following the serious escalation of the security situation in Europe.
The UEFA Executive Committee has decided to move the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League final from Saint Petersburg to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The match will be played, as originally planned, on Saturday 28 May at 21:00CET.
UEFA would like to express its thanks and appreciation to the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, for his personal support and commitment to bringing the most prestigious match in European club football to France at a time of unprecedented crisis. Together with the French government, UEFA will fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure rescue provision for football players and their families in Ukraine, who are facing horrific human suffering, destruction and displacement.
At today’s meeting, the UEFA Executive Committee has also decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will have to play their home games at neutral venues until further notice.
The UEFA Executive Committee further decided to stand by to convene further extraordinary meetings, on a regular and ongoing basis where necessary, to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and take further decisions as necessary,” the statement said. .
Therefore, this season’s Champions League final will be played on the same date, May 28, at the Stade France in Paris.
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