Kremlin Responds After UEFA Moves Champions League Final From Russia To France
The 2021/22 Champions League will conclude with a showpiece event in France after UEFA stripped Russia of the right to host the final.
St Petersburg's Krestovsky Stadium, referred to as the Gazprom Arena for sponsorship reasons, had originally been selected as the venue for the event on May 28.
But UEFA confirmed on Friday that the final would now take place at the Stade de France in Paris - which also hosted the final of Euro 2016.
UEFA's decision came in response to Russian president Vladimir Putin ordering his troops to invade Ukraine.
A UEFA statement read: "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 9pm CET.
The Stade de France in Paris hosted the final of Euro 2016 between France and Portugal
IMAGO/David Klein
"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."
It was also declared that Russian and Ukrainian teams must play their home games at neutral venues until further notice.
No clubs from Russia or Ukraine remain in the Champions League, but Spartak Moscow were paired with RB Leipzig in Friday's Europa League last 16 draw.
The Kremlin issued a swift response to UEFA's decision to take the UCL final away from St Petersburg.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on a conference call, as reported by Sky Sports: "It's a shame that such a decision has been made.
"St Petersburg could have provided all favorable conditions to hold this festival of soccer."