Champions final moved from St. Petersburg to Paris

The UEFA executive committee has officially decided to move the Champions League final, scheduled for May 28 from St. Petersburg, to the Stade de France in Paris. Change was in the air yesterday, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The French capital thus returns to host a Champions League final after 16 years. The last one dates back to May 17, 2006, with Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal. It is the third consecutive year that the challenge that assigns the cup changes venue. In 2020 and 2021 for the pandemic it was in fact played in Portugal, first in Lisbon and then in Porto, both times moving it from the original headquarters in Istanbul. Initially there was talk of Wembley as a possible substitute for St. Petersburg, a stadium which has already been designated for the 2024 final. The choice fell on Paris instead.

neutral field

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The executive committee has also decided that all matches involving Russian and Ukrainian teams, including national teams (both will be involved in the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar) must be played on neutral ground. In the three European cups the only one involved is Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.