Uefa to move Champions League final after Russian invasion

Uefa will take the 2022 Champions League final away from St. Petersburg following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision will be made at Friday’s emergency meeting of European football’s governing body.

Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday.

World football’s governing body Fifa is to meet on Thursday with Russia and Ukraine both scheduled to play in World Cup play-off matches in March.

Russia are due to play Poland on March 24, while Scotland host Ukraine on the same day.

Ukraine’s domestic football league was set to resume this weekend after a winter break, but that will remain suspended. Fifteen of the most recent 23-man Ukraine squad play in their homeland.

Sweden are also in the play-offs and would meet Russia for a place at the World Cup finals, which get under way in Qatar in November, if both win their semi-finals. Karl-Erik Nilsson, the chairman of the Swedish Football Association, told Reuters a match in Russia was “almost unthinkable” at the moment.

The Champions League final was set to be played at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg on May 28, but Uefa has known an escalation in the situation between Russia and Ukraine would make it impossible to stage the match.

Overnight developments have made that certain and Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has called an emergency executive committee meeting for Friday when the decision will be rubber stamped.

Uefa is in the process of evaluating alternatives but is now committed to changing the venue of its most prestigious club game at short notice for the third year running.

Meanwhile, Zenit St. Petersburg’s game on Thursday will go ahead, Uefa has confirmed.

They face Spanish side Real Betis away in the Europa League at 20:00 GMT.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) condemned the Russian government for breaking the Olympic truce, which began seven days before the before the start of the Winter Olympics and ends seven days after the closing of the Winter Paralympics.

A statement said: “The IOC is deeply concerned about the safety of the Olympic community in Ukraine.

“It has established a task force to closely monitor the situation and to coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic community in Ukraine where possible.”

A Russian delegation will be heading to the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, which begin on 4 March, and the International Paralympic Committee has said it is “in dialogue” with the Ukrainian and Russian Paralympic Committees amid the ongoing crisis.

Meanwhile, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has said it is “monitoring the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and the safety of participants at their World Cup competitions in Russia this weekend.

Formula 1 says it is “closely watching the fluid developments”, with the Russian Grand Prix due to take place in Sochi in September. (BBC Sport)