The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided, this Friday, to transfer the final match of the European Football Champions League from the city of Saint Petersburg, in Russia, to Paris, capital of France.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin called an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for this Friday morning, and there it was decided to change the venue of the European Champions League final.
The UEFA 2021/22 final match was scheduled to take place on May 28 at Zenit St. Petersburg's Zenit Stadium. But due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, UEFA was forced to move the game. The stadium that would host the final in St. Petersburg is named after energy giant Gazprom, one of UEFA's main sponsors since 2012. In France, meanwhile, the game will be held at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris.
This decision was made one day after UEFA condemned the Russian armed assaults on Ukrainian territory.
The venue for the decisive meeting of Europe's premier club competition is changed for the third year in a row, after Lisbon and Porto hosted the 2019/20 and 2020/21 finals due to the covid-19 pandemic, in both cases over Istanbul, Turkey.
The body that oversees European soccer has also decided to reschedule matches involving clubs or national teams that are scheduled for Russia or Ukraine. The first affected will be Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.
The 2021/22 UEFA Men's Champions League final will move 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.
Full statement: ⬇️
- UEFA (@UEFA) February 25, 2022