On Friday morning, UEFA issued an official announcement in which it announced that Russia had received the Champions League final, which was to take place on 28 May in St. Petersburg. Paris will be the new host of the final and will host the finalists at the Stade de France. France has been given this opportunity for the first time since 2006. In addition, UEFA said that “Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams will play home games on neutral ground until further notice.”
Media: UEFA is preparing huge sanctions against Russia. The Champions League final will no longer be organized by Russia
The portal informs that UEFA will apply further sanctions against Russia next week. In addition to picking up this year’s Champions League final, the federation will take away Russia’s right to organize further finals in the future. The package of sports sanctions against Russia is being pushed by Zbigniew Boniek, who is UEFA’s vice-president and has a strong position in the European federation. Next Monday, the UEFA Executive Committee will also suspend the clubs and the Russian national team in the competition under the aegis of UEFA. The penalty will now only cover Spartak Moscow, who was supposed to play in the 1/8 finals of the Europa League with RB Leipzig.
UEFA will also end its sponsorship cooperation with Gazprom on Monday. The Russian company has been a sponsor of the Champions League for several years, and the current contract was valid until 2024. The federation is confident about this step and is currently adding legal details to end its cooperation with Gazprom. This means that UEFA is giving up EUR 80 million a season, which it could count on from Russia. Earlier, Schalke 04 ended cooperation with Gazprom.
UEFA’s decisions will thus have an impact on Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, who would have to react just as harshly. In the background, there is the issue of the March play-offs for promotion to the World Cup in Qatar. The Polish, Swedish and Czech federations unanimously announced that they did not intend to take part in the play-offs with the Russian representation.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
