Paris to host Champions League final following Russian invasion

The Champions League final will no longer be hosted in Russia, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The final was due to take place in St. Petersburg on Saturday, May 28, 2022, but will now be played in Paris’ Stade de France.

The news has been widely reported on Friday morning, with it set to be confirmed by UEFA later in the day.

The Stade de France is an 81,000-capacity stadium, which hosted the 2006 final, having been built for the 1998 World Cup.

If Liverpool were to reach the final, it’s certainly a more accessible location than St Petersburg almost 2,000 miles away.

The Reds lifted their third European Cup in Paris in 1981, beating Real Madrid.

Jurgen Klopp‘s side have a 2-0 lead over Inter Milan, with the last-16 second leg tie to take place at Anfield on March 8.

The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals takes place on March 18.

 

Full UEFA Statement

The UEFA Executive Committee today held an extraordinary meeting following the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe.

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.