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Champions League final moved to Paris; Sochi F1 axed

Published:Friday | February 25, 2022 | 9:54 AM
AP General view inside the Stade de France stadium before a training session ahead of the UEFA Nations League match between France and Croatia at the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Sunday, September 6, 2020. Russia has been stripp
AP
AP General view inside the Stade de France stadium before a training session ahead of the UEFA Nations League match between France and Croatia at the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Sunday, September 6, 2020. Russia has been stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA with St Petersburg replaced by Paris after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

LONDON (AP):

Russia was stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA on Friday with St Petersburg replaced by Paris, and Formula One dropped this season’s Russian Grand Prix at Sochi, as the invasion of Ukraine drew punitive measures across the sporting world.

Manchester United also dropped Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot as a sponsor citing “events in Ukraine” after the company was banned in Britain on Thursday as part of sanctions.

Although UEFA still has Gazprom as a Champions League sponsor, the final will no longer be staged at the St Petersburg stadium named after the Russian state-owned energy firm. The climax to the European men’s football season will still be held on May 28 but now at the 80,000-seat Stade de France in the Saint-Denis suburb of the French capital after the decision by UEFA’s executive committee.

It followed discussions led by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin that involved the European Commission and French President Emmanuel Macron in recent days after concerns were raised about the status of Russia retaining such a prestigious event after its aggression toward another European country.

UEFA thanked 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.”

Alexander Dyukov, a Russian member of the UEFA executive committee, complained the decision was taken for “political reasons.” Dyukov also opposed UEFA ordering Russian clubs and national teams to play at neutral venues until further notice — a ruling also imposed on Ukrainian sides.

The move comes as Russian bombs and troops pounded Ukraine during the invasion’s first full day, and world leaders on Friday began to fine-tune a response meant to punish the Russian economy and its leaders, including President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

The F1 race wasn’t due until September in the Black Sea resort of Sochi but the motorsport series leadership decided it would be “impossible” to stage the Grand Prix after talks with teams and the FIA governing body. American team Haas also dropped the sponsorship of Russian company Uralkali during preseason testing in Barcelona. Nikita Mazepin of Haas is the only Russian driver on the F1 grid this season.

“We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation,” F1 said in a statement.