Due to the conflict in Ukraine launched by Russia, UEFA decided to pull the Champions League final from Saint Petersburg, where the city was supposed to play host to football’s biggest match on May 28th.
After the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, Europe’s governing body for football decided to pull the game from there and award it to Paris. As a result, the Champions League final will be occurring at the Stade de France, UEFA announced in a press release.
It will be the first time Paris, or rather Saint-Denis, will host such an event since 2006; a final played between FC Barcelona and Arsenal. The Spanish club came away with a 2-1 victory, scoring two late goals and Samuel Eto’o being awarded man of the match.
“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,” UEFA said in a statement.
“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.”
UEFA had already relocated the last two Champions League finals to Lisbon in 2020 then to Porto in 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic, which prevented these matches from being played in İstanbul in Turkey.
