In response to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has confirmed that the Champions League final in May will be moved from St Petersburg, Russia, to Paris, France.
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, expressed concern over the showcase men game scheduled for May 28 in St. Petersburg, as he urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from launching a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.
Since Moscow grabbed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and backed separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine, UEFA has kept Ukrainian and Russian teams separated in draws to prevent them from playing each other.
Since 2012, when Ukraine co-hosted the European Championship with Russia Russia’s state gas firm, Gazprom, has been a sponsor of the Champions League. When the Ukrainian capital hosted the 2018 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, the company’s branding were removed from a UEFA-branded “Champions Festival” on Kyiv’s main street.
