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UEFA decided on Friday that the final of the most prestigious European football cup, initially scheduled for Saint Petersburg, will be played in Saint-Denis.
The Champions League final is back at the Stade de France. Meeting this Friday morning in an extraordinary executive committee, the European body entrusted the organization of the C1 final to France, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The match, scheduled for May 28 in Saint Petersburg, will finally be played in Saint-Denis at 9 p.m. Under pressure from several European governments, UEFA condemned “firmly the military invasion” of Russia in Ukraine, and urgently convened this committee.
In a statement, UEFA thanked President Emmanuel Macron “for his personal support and his involvement in ensuring that the most prestigious match in European football is moved to France, in a moment of unprecedented crisis”. Implying that the French president, who is also very active on the diplomatic front, had intervened personally.
No more matches in Russia or Ukraine
Host of Euro 2016, France had not hosted a final of a European competition since 2018: the Europa League final between Olympique de Marseille and Atlético de Madrid was played in Lyon. It is above all the first time in sixteen years that the Stade de France will host a Champions League final, after that of 2006 between FC Barcelona and Arsenal, and 2000 between Real Madrid and Valencia.
The executive committee has also decreed that the meetings of the Russian and Ukrainian teams (clubs and national selection) can no longer be played on their territories for the moment. All matches under the authority of UEFA will be played on neutral ground.
Condemnations of the Russian invasion have also entered the field. Thursday evening, just before the kick-off of the return match of the sixteenth final of the Europa League between Naples and FC Barcelona, the players of both teams unfurled a banner «Stop War» (“stop the war”) to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
