UCL final to be played in Paris as UEFA strips Russia of game

This season’s Champions League final has now been moved from Russia to France following the prospective war between Russia and Ukraine.

The game was billed to take place at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 28 May, but the clash has now been moved to Paris in France.

Following a meeting on Friday, the fEuropean football governing body confirmed the match would now be staged at the Stade de France in Paris.

It is the third successive year Uefa has moved the venue of the Champions League final at short notice, with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to the switches in 2020 and 2021.

Read Also: UEFA to move Champions League final from Russia over Ukraine invasion

Uefa expressed “thanks and appreciation” to French 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”.

It added: “Together with the French government, Uefa 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.”

At Friday’s meeting, Uefa also ordered Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams to play their home matches away from the region.

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