Russia loses Champions League final amid Ukraine invasion backlash

St Petersburg won’t host the Champions League final following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Numerous reports say the world’s biggest club football showpiece will be taken away from Russia – and that looks likely to be just the start of a global sporting backlash following Thursday’s invasion of Ukraine.

The attack was widely condemned throughout the global sporting community with Russia set to lose hosting rights to many other events too.

An extraordinary meeting of European football’s governing body UEFA will be held on Friday to discuss the growing geopolitical crisis, with officials set to confirm taking the May 28 match out of Russia.

Both UEFA and world football’s governing body FIFA both publicly rebuked Russia on Thursday.

(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein – UEFA/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

UEFA said it “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 added: “We remain resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine and stand ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people.”

As Russia’s threats toward Ukraine had grown through the week, the British government and fan groups had already called for the final not to be played in St. Petersburg, where the stadium is sponsored by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

The company is also the main sponsor of Schalke, but the German second-division club said on Thursday that the Gazprom logo was being removed from club jerseys.

UEFA’s sponsorship by Gazprom is also under scrutiny with its branding having a significant profile this week at Champions League round of 16 games.

A joint statement from the football associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic called for next month’s World Cup play-offs not be played in Russia.

“We expect FIFA and UEFA to react immediately and to present alternative solutions regarding places where these approaching play-off matches could be played,” said the statement.

Poland are due to play in Russia on March 24 with the winners hosting either Sweden or the Czechs five days later.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it “strongly condemns the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government,” days after the end of the closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The truce is intended to secure safe passage for athletes during the Games and, in the long term, promote the idea of working toward world peace. It runs until the end of the Paralympics, which are due to open in Beijing on March 4.

Russia’s name, flag and anthem are already barred from the March 4-13 Paralympics in Beijing over previous doping disputes. Its team is due to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee.

Formula One said it was “closely watching the very fluid developments” but made no further comment on whether the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi would be cancelled in September. 

But four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel said he would not compete at the Russian Grand Prix.

“I will not go,” the German driver said.

“I think it’s wrong to race in the country. I’m sorry for the innocent people that are losing their lives, that are getting killed (for) stupid reasons and a very strange and mad leadership.”

In domestic sport in Ukraine, football’s Ukrainian Premier League suspended operations due to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to impose martial law. 

Shakhtar Donetsk’s Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, his staff and 13 Brazilian players have been left stranded with Brazilian-born Ukrainian forward Junior Moraes saying they were “prisoners in Kiev” while waiting for a solution to get out of the country.

“Pray for us,” he wrote on Instagram.