UEFA look set to move the Champions League final away from Saint Petersburg following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The president of the football governing body, Aleksander Ceferin, has called for an extraordinary meeting on Friday morning.
It is understood that contingency plans are being drawn up over where to host this season’s Champions League final, which had been scheduled to take place in St Petersburg’s 68,000-capacity Gazprom Arena on May 28.
A statement from UEFA read: “Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine in the last 24 hours, the Uefa president has decided to call an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee for Friday 25 February at 0900 GMT, in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions.
“Further communication will be made after the meeting of the Uefa executive committee.”
According to Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol, four stadiums in England are under consideration: Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur stadium, the Emirates stadium and the London stadium.
🏟 Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur stadium, the Emirates stadium and the London stadium are all under consideration for the Champions League final venue.
[via @SkyKaveh] pic.twitter.com/Wyrk8g8iGA
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 24, 2022
Footage courtesy of Sky Sports
The last two finals were held in Lisbon and Porto, despite Istanbul being the designated city but the coronavirus pandemic put an end to that due to the pressure Turkey was under at the time.
UEFA have a lot to discuss with tonight’s scheduled games in the Europa League and Europa Conference League going ahead as planned — Real Betis take on Zenit St Petersburg in Spain.
I doubt many United fans had flights booked for St Petersburg in May, but who knows after the round-of-16, we might have a greater interest in where the final is played.
Fingers crossed.
On top of this, United are unlikely to renew their sponsorship deal with Russian airline company Aeroflot.
A good decision by Richard Arnold and co…
