The Champions League final has been moved to Paris following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA has confirmed.
The decision to move the location of the event was made at an emergency meeting chaired by UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, this morning (February 25) – a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military invasion of Ukraine.
The final of the European competition was set to take place at the Gazprom Arena in the Russian city of St Petersburg on May 28th, but has now been moved to State de France in Paris.
A statement from European football’s governing body said: “The UEFA executive committee decided to relocate the final of the 2021-22 UEFA Men’s Champions League from St Petersburg to Stade de France in St Denis.
“The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday May 28 at 9pm 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.”
UEFA added that it 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.”