Russia will be stripped of the Champions League final after UEFA called for an emergency meeting for Friday February 25.
The showpiece event of European club football was scheduled to be held at the Krestovsky Stadium in St Petersburg on May 28.
But with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this means the final will be relocated, with three London venues; Wembley Stadium, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and West Ham’s London Stadium set as potential alternatives.
A UEFA statement said: ‘Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine in the last 24 hours, the UEFA President has decided to call an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for Friday 25 February at 10:00 CET, in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions.’
UEFA is also under increasing pressure to drop their £33million-a-season sponsorship deal with the majority state-owned Russian energy provider Gazprom, who also sponsor the UEFA Nations League and European Championship finals.
All members of UEFA’s executive committee have been invited to the meeting, including Alexander Dyukov. He is the president of Zenit St Petersburg and the Russian Football Union as well as being the chief executive of Gazprom.
