Paris instead of Saint Petersburg: UEFA postpones the final of the Champions League

As expected, UEFA has withdrawn Saint Petersburg from the Champions League final. The game is now set to take place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris.

This was confirmed by UEFA after a special meeting of its Executive Committee on Friday (02/25/2022). The meeting was convened by President Aleksander Ceferin in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. According to previous plans, the final should take place on May 28, 2022 in the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg.

“UEFA would like to express its gratitude and appreciation to Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, for his personal support and commitment,” it said in a statement. The final planned in Saint Petersburg had been criticized by politicians in view of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, several MPs and members of the European Parliament called for the game to be rescheduled. In previous years, UEFA had to reschedule several times due to the pandemic.

Russian and Ukrainian teams must play on neutral pitches

The UEFA Executive Committee also decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams participating in UEFA competitions must play their home games at neutral venues until further notice. This applies, for example, to Spartak Moscow in the Europa League. UEFA wrote that it will support efforts “to ensure that football players and their families in Ukraine who are facing appalling human suffering, destruction and displacement are rescued”. On Thursday, UEFA condemned Russia’s actions.

How to deal with the playoffs of the European qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar remains unclear. Russia is scheduled to play against Poland in the semi-finals in Moscow on March 24, and Russia would also have home advantage in the final on March 29 if they progressed, then against the Czech Republic or Sweden. However, the games in the World Cup qualification fall under the direction of the world association FIFA. The associations from Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden wrote in a joint open letter to FIFA that they did not want to play in Russia under any circumstances and asked that the match be relocated to other venues. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at a press conference on Thursday evening that the situation would continue to be monitored. “The Council Committee will make a decision as soon as it is necessary and possible,” Infantino said.

No statement from UEFA on Gazprom’s sponsorship

In its statement, however, UEFA did not address Gazprom’s longstanding sponsorship. Several politicians had called for an end to Gazprom’s sponsorship of UEFA. When asked by the sports show, UEFA did not answer the amount of Gazprom’s payments and possible influence on decisions. As things stand, the company, which the government uses politically as a geostrategic instrument of power, is still a sponsor of the Champions League and the 2024 European Championship, which will be held in Germany. The cooperation with UEFA has been running since 2012.

In an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, DFB presidential candidate Peter Peters called for UEFA to reconsider the partnership. “I can’t imagine, given the war, that anyone in football would want to be associated with this issue,” said Peters. “We can’t hide behind contractual obligations or claims for damages now.” Peters sits on the FIFA Council as the elected representative of UEFA and is running for president at the DFB Bundestag on 11 March in Bonn.

However, there has been little distance between UEFA, the Russian association and the state-owned company Gazprom for years. The Moscow-based gas company based in Saint Petersburg has been one of UEFA’s major sponsors since 2012. The company is in the Champions League environment, and last year the partnership was expanded to include the EM 2021 and the Nations League. When asked by the sports show, UEFA did not answer what amount is now due for the sponsorship.

Gazprom, Russia and UEFA – a long-established connection

At first glance, the advertising value of sponsorship for Gazprom seems low, after all it is largely impossible for an end user in Europe to become a customer of Gazprom. But the state-owned energy giant is polishing up its image. Added to this is the uncomplicated access to decision-makers from business and politics in the VIP boxes in the stadiums.

Russia has also been established at the decision-making level of UEFA for years. Gazprom officials have an important say in UEFA, as a look at the personal details in the relevant bodies over the past few years shows. The Russian officials who sat on the UEFA Executive Committee or on the FIFA Council on behalf of UEFA all had a connection with the company. This also applies to Alexander Dyukov, who has been a member of the UEFA executive since 2021 and also had voting rights on Friday. Dyukov was president of Zenit Saint Petersburg, is now president of the Russian association and chairman of the Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Neft.

Source: sportschau.de