UEFA has confirmed that this season's Champions League final will no longer be held in St Petersburg, Russia, due to the escalating situation in Ukraine.
Following the bombing of a number of cities in Ukraine, including Kiev, on Thursday, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin called for an "extraordinary meeting" of the Executive Committee to be held on Friday to discuss a change of venue for the Champions League final, which was set to take place at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 28 May, per Sky Sports.
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After deliberating in depth, UEFA has now confirmed that the final will no longer be hosted on Russian soil as initially planned, and will take place in Paris, at the Stade de France, instead.
The 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Champions League final will move from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
— UEFA (@UEFA) February 25, 2022
The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET.
Full statement: ??
"The UEFA Executive Committee today held an extraordinary meeting following the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe," a statement from UEFA read.
"The UEFA Executive Committee decided to relocate the final of the 2021/22 UEFA Men's Champions League from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET.
"UEFA wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to French Republic President Emmanuel Macron for his personal support and commitment to have European club football's most prestigious game moved to France at a time of unparalleled crisis. Together with the French government, UEFA will fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure the provision of rescue for football players and their families in Ukraine who face dire human suffering, destruction and displacement.
"At today's meeting, the UEFA Executive Committee also decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will be required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.
"The UEFA Executive Committee further determined to remain on standby to convene further extraordinary meetings, on a regular ongoing basis where required, to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and adopt further decisions as necessary."
The devasting events have left many in Ukraine fearing for their lives, with Brazilian players from Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev seen on video calling on their country's government to help them evacuate the nation immediately as borders are closed.
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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is also said to have been effectively banned from entering Britain as he is considered to be among the enablers of the ongoing political violence, per the Daily Mail.