UEFA confirm new venue for Champions League final

UEFA have confirmed that this year’s Champions League final will now be played in Paris.

The European football governing body has stripped Saint Petersburg of hosting rights for the showpiece fixture, following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

Russian troops continued their advance on Ukraine on Friday, which has caused widespread condemnation and sanctions from world leaders.

The decision to move the game to the Stade de France, which last hosted the Champions League final in 2006 when Barcelona beat Arsenal to lift the European Cup for the second time, was confirmed during an extraordinary meeting of UEFA’s Executive Committee on Friday.

The governing body said in a statement: “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 9 p.m. CET [3 p.m. ET].

“UEFA wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to French Republic 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.

“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.

The Kremlin on Friday it regretted UEFA’s decision, saying the city would have made a good host for a “festival of football.”