The UEFA Champions League final to be hosted by the Russian city of St Petersburg is now in doubt as UEFA on Thursday condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports UEFA pledged that decisions would be taken on the matter at an emergency meeting of its executive committee on Friday.
“UEFA shares the international community’s significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine,’’ it said in a second statement on the day.
“We remain resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine and stand ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people. We are dealing with this situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency. Decisions will be taken by the UEFA Executive Committee and announced tomorrow”.
UEFA are set to strip the Russian city of St Petersburg of hosting this year’s Champions League final on May 28. It may also look into World Cup play-offs Russia are to host next month.
In addition, Russian company Gazprom is a major UEFA sponsor and sanctioned indirectly by the U.S. as the parent company of the North Stream gas pipeline.