PARIS will now be the host city for the 2022 Champions League final after Russia was stripped of the match following the nation's invasion of Ukraine.
The final match of Europe's most popular club competition was set to take place in St Petersburg on Saturday, May 28.
But following a meeting on Friday, UEFA confirmed that the match would no longer be held at the Gazprom Arena.
Now, the European football governing body had made the decision to instead hold the match at the Stade de France in Paris.
The 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Champions League final will move from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
— UEFA (@UEFA) February 25, 2022
The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET.
Full statement: ⬇️
In a statement released by the football body, they wanted to express their "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."
Adding: "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 also said that they have decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs and nations teams competing in the UEFA competitions "will be required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice."
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