The 2022 Champions League final will be played in Paris after Russia was stripped of the match following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine.
The final of Europe’s most prestigious club competition was due to be played in St Petersburg on 28 May.
Following a meeting on Friday, Uefa confirmed the match would not be held at the Gazprom Arena.
Instead the European football governing body has decided it will be staged at the Stade de France in Paris.
Uefa thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for “his personal support and commitment” to have the 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.”
It is the third year running the venue of the Champions League final has been moved.
In 2020, it was switched from Istanbul to Lisbon because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Turkish city was set to host the game last year instead but it was again moved to Portugal – this time, Porto – because of the pandemic.
In a similar vein, the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix has been cancelled as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.
An F1 statement said it had been agreed at a meeting of stakeholders “that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances”.
It added that F1 was watching the ongoing situation in Ukraine “with sadness and shock and hopes for a swift and peaceful resolution”.
The Russian Grand Prix was due to take place on 25 September in Sochi.
Meanwhile, Haas team boss Gunther Steiner has said the future of his driver Nikita Mazepin “needs to be resolved”.
Steiner said the team had “legal issues to go through” in an apparent hint the US-based outfit are trying to split from Mazepin and the sponsorship money that comes from his father Dmitry – a billionaire with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Haas had already removed the logos advertising Mazepin’s company before Friday’s final day of this week’s pre-season test in Barcelona.
Steiner said the team would work on the situation next week, but insisted the future of Haas in F1 was not in doubt.
Source: www.bbc.com/sport
