European football launched its battery of sanctions against Russia this Friday, the day after the attack by the Russian army on Ukraine: UEFA withdrew from Saint Petersburg the organization of the Champions League final, on May 28, relocated to the Stade de France of Paris.
Little more than 24 hours after the Russian attack on Ukrainian territory, UEFA urgently met its executive committee this Friday by videoconference from Nyon to respond to the situation.
Initially scheduled for Saint Petersburg on May 28 (8:00 p.m. GMT), UEFA decided to move the final of its flagship tournament to Paris.
Almost immediately, the Kremlin considered the decision of the European confederation “a pity”. “Saint Petersburg would have offered ideal conditions for holding such a football festival,” spokesman Dimitri Peskov said.
The president of the Russian Football Federation, Alexander Diukov, considered for his part that UEFA’s decision responds to “political reasons”.
Third final at the Stade de France
The Stade de France has already hosted the Champions League final in 2006, in which Barcelona defeated Arsenal, and in 2000, in which Real Madrid beat Valencia.
The other three finals of the top European club tournament organized in the French capital were played at the Parc des Princes (1956, 1975 and 1981).
In a statement, “UEFA would like to express its thanks and appreciation to the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, for his personal support and commitment to bringing the most prestigious match in European club football to France at a time of crisis. without precedents”.
“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 are facing horrific human suffering, destruction and displacement.” organism.
UEFA, which on Thursday “firmly condemned the Russian invasion”, also decided that all matches in which Russian and Ukrainian teams play at home will be played on neutral ground “until further notice” in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army.
This decision mainly affects the Spartak Moscow match in the Europa League, but not the playoff for the 2022 World Cup between Russia and Poland scheduled for March 24 in Moscow, a match that depends on FIFA.
The Polish, Czech and Swedish federations (the last two countries must also play that playoff), already stated on Thursday that they did not want to have to travel to Russia.
For now, FIFA has not made any decision, although on Thursday its president Gianni Infantino said he was “concerned” about the “tragic and disturbing” situation in the region.
On the other hand, UEFA makes no reference to its relations with Gazprom, the Russian energy giant that is one of the biggest sponsors of the European football confederation and reputed to be close to the Russian regime.
The sports world reacts
German club Schalke, also sponsored by Gazprom, announced on Thursday that it was removing the company’s name from its jerseys.
These announcements come at a time when there is a great mobilization of world sport against the Russian invasion.
Atalanta’s Ukrainian international striker Ruslan Malinovskyi wore a shirt with the message (in English) ‘Stop War’ after scoring a goal in the Europa League.
The Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev, who next Monday will be number 1 in the world ranking, declared for his part that “tennis at the moment is not that important” after playing his match at the Mexican Tennis Open and admitted having woken up ” with many emotions.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal wished for his part that the conflict “end as soon as possible”.
Several Formula 1 drivers, such as the Dutch world champion Max Verstappen, the Spanish Fernando Alonso and the German Sebastian Vettel were against the Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for September at the Sochi circuit, on Thursday.
And the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced this Friday the cancellation of all its planned competitions in Russia until the end of the season.
