UEFA confirm new venue for Champions League final after stripping Russia

Paris will host the 2022 UEFA Champions League final after Russia were stripped of the right to host the showpiece game.

The biggest game in European club football was due to take place at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on May 28.

But Russia's invasion of Ukraine has seen them lose their host city status with UEFA deciding on Paris as a replacement.

Wembley was in the running but the French capital has got the nod with the Stade de France now set to host the game.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin quickly called an extraordinary meeting for Friday morning amid the escalating situation in Ukraine where the venue change was decided.

Russian and Ukrainian teams - both club and national - will also be required to play at neutral venues in European competitions until further notice.

A UEFA statement read: "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 21:00 CET.

"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.

"At today's meeting, the UEFA Executive Committee also decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will be required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.

"The UEFA Executive Committee further determined to remain on standby to convene further extraordinary meetings, on a regular ongoing basis where required, to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and adopt further decisions as necessary."

UEFA have previously been keen not to change the venue for the Champions League final having done so for the previous two seasons due to the Covid pandemic.

But, speaking on Wednesday, British prime minister Boris Johnson said Russia should have "no chance of holding football tournaments" due to the crisis.

The 2020 final was set to be held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey but was moved to the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

And last season's final was again moved from Turkey to Portugal, as the Estadio do Dragao in Porto hosted Chelsea's victory against Manchester City.

Saint Petersburg's stadium is sponsored by Gazprom, a Russian majority state-owned energy company and one of the Champions League's biggest sponsors.

UEFA's deal with Gazprom is thought to be worth £33million per season. The Russian company are also one of the official global sponsors for Euro 2024.