Ivan OrekhovCorrespondent SportAll materialsFootball officials promptly responded to the events in Ukraine. Everything that is known about the postponement of the Champions League final of the 2021/22 season from St. Petersburg is in our material. Traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow I can’t even believe that 14 years have passed since the Moscow Champions League final. After all, what vivid impressions he gave to the football world! May 2008, the Luzhniki drowned in the rain, the fall and tears of grief of Chelsea captain John Terry and the tears (of happiness) of Cristiano Ronaldo … Edwin van der Sar's save after the final blow of the penalty shoot-out by Nicolas Anelka brought Manchester United «the third victory in the main club tournament of the Old World. In 2022, St. Petersburg could surprise with no less incandescent thriller. Already on May 28, he was supposed to host the Champions League final despite all the postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic: if not for COVID-19, last year's decisive Champions League match would have been held in St. Petersburg. View this post on Instagram
the handsome city on the Neva is unlikely to wait for the main match of the European season.
- On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin, after reports of an aggravation of the situation in the Donbass, convened an extraordinary large meeting of the Security Council, after which he addressed the citizens of the Russian Federation with a statement about the need to immediately recognize the sovereignty of the LPR and DPR. Immediately after the appeal, the president signed decrees in the Kremlin on the recognition of these republics.
The discussion of sanctions that followed Putin's loud statement could not but affect the sports sector. Thus, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that from now on it is «unthinkable» to hold major international football tournaments in Russia. He was supported by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
" St. Petersburg. Should English clubs boycott the final in Russia? Yes. If I were them, I would boycott him", Truss voiced her position on Sky News.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was in no hurry to speak sharply about the political situation. This is the response received from the organization to a request for comment:
"UEFA is continuously and closely monitoring the situation and will make a decision in due course if necessary. We have no further comments regarding this situation".