UEFA confirm Champions League final moved from Russia to France
- Planet Sport writer
- 25 February 2022
The final scheduled for May 28 was originally supposed to take place in St Petersburg, Russia. But as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, UEFA have moved it to the Stade de France.
Following an emergency meeting that took place on Friday morning, UEFA have decided to move the showpiece to Paris.
The Champions League final was set to take place in Zenit St Petersburg's stadium, the Gazprom Arena, but a decision has been made to instead host it in the Stade de France - the venue for France's international side.
It will be the first time France have played host to the final since 2006, when Barcelona pipped Arsenal to the title.
The decision follows Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and UEFA have added that no games taking place in any of their tournaments - club or international - will be hosted in Ukraine or Russia.
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: ⬇️
FIFA have also been put under pressure to make a decision regarding upcoming World Cup qualifiers, with Scotland set to take on Ukraine on March 24, while Poland are set to take on Russia on the same day.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino revealed after a meeting on Thursday afternoon that no decision has yet been made, but that the organisation are looking at the situation as "a matter of urgency".
"The situation that we have all discovered this morning is obviously very tragic and very worrying and we have a duty to look at this matter seriously to analyse it," said Infantino.
"We received this letter just shortly before the meeting and we will look at it as a matter of urgency.
"The first match is one month from now and of course we hope that this whole situation will be solved before then - well before then, as soon as possible. We want to strongly believe in that.
"But we have a body in place, the bureau, who can take a decision at any time. We are analysing the situation and we will take the decision when we have to take it."
