Chronicle Editor
Uefa is ready to drop St Petersburg as the venue for this year’s Champions League final, but has yet to take a decision, as the military crisis in Ukraine deepens.
The final of Europe’s most prestigious club competition is due to be played in Russia’s second-largest city on 28 May but Uefa finds itself under increasing pressure to move the venue after Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, announced a decision to send troops into Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Officials, including Uefa’s president, Alexander Ceferin, were in discussions over the location of the match on Tuesday. The Champions League final has been moved, because of Covid, in both of the past two seasons.
“Uefa is constantly and closely monitoring the situation and any decision would be made in due course if necessary,” the governing body said in a statement, updated to include the possibility of a relocation. “Uefa has no further comments to make at present.”
Any decision is likely to follow political direction from inside Europe. Ceferin has built close ties within the EU during the recent European Super League affair and a common move towards a ‘European Sport Model’ of governance.
On Tuesday the EU and member states began detailing responses to the Russia’s announcements, with the most prominent act a decision by the German government to delay certification of the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline project.
The British government has spoken out, expressing opposition to the final going ahead in St Petersburg. Boris Johnson said there should be “no chance of holding football tournaments in a Russia that invades sovereign countries”.
A government spokesperson reinforced this view, saying: “We have serious concerns about the hosting of international sporting events in Russia, such as the Champions League final, and will discuss these with the relevant governing bodies. — BBC sport
Online Reporter