Champions League Final location Moves from Moscow to Paris
Following the escalation of violence perpetrated by Russia over Ukraine — and a subsequent series of sanctions targeting the country’s economy in various ways — UEFA announced the relocation of the Champions League final from Moscow to Paris.
The game, scheduled for March 28, was supposed to take place in St. Peterburg, at the Gazprom Arena.
Gazprom itself, a Russian world-leading company in the energetic field, happens to be one of UEFA’s main sponsors, with this latter reported to be in talks with his lawyers to end the commercial partnesrhip.
The match will be disputed in Paris, at the Stade de Frances. An avant-garde structure that will host the athletic events of the next Olympic’s edition in 2024.
The reasons behind the choice are basically two: firstly, France hasn’t hosted a Champions League final since 2006, when Barcelona triumphed over Arsenal, coming back from an initial 0-1 to a final 2-1.
Secondly, the actual president of the Council of the European Union, one of the most prominent and key organs in the continent, happens to be the French politician Charles Michel.
Paradoxically, it’s the third time in a row the final has had to be relocated. The two last editions were rescheduled to be played in Portugal due to the Covid-19 outburst.
However, this is not the only amendment aimed at contrasting Russia.
UEFA has also announced that every match controlled by the organ and involving Russian and Ukrainian teams, both national and club, will have to be relocated to neutral venues.
Russian soccer federation (R.F.U.) replied to these emendations through the words of his president, Alexander Dyukov.
“The R.F.U. does not support the decision to transfer any matches involving Russian teams to neutral territory as violating the sports principle and infringing on the interests of players, coaches and fans.”
Dykov is also chief executive of Gazprom and president of Zenit-St. Petersburg.