UEFA has moved this year’s Champions League final to France after it withdrew the right from Russia for invading Ukraine.
The UEFA executive committee held an emergency meeting on Friday and decided to move the showpiece to the Stade de France from the 68,000-capacity Gazprom Arena in Vladimir Putin’s home city.
A UEFA statement said: “The UEFA Executive Committee today held an extraordinary meeting following the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe.
“The UEFA Executive Committee decided to relocate the final of the 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Champions League from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET.
However, Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will play home matches at neutral venues.
This is set to affect Spartak Moscow in the Europa League who were paired with RB Leipzig in Friday’s draw and also Russia and Ukraine in the 2022-23 Nations League which is due to get under way in June
