LONDON: UEFA are to hold an emergency meeting on Friday to “evaluate the situation” concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the former set to host the Champions League final in Saint Petersburg in May.

“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 (0900 GMT), in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions,” UEFA said in a statement.

“We are dealing with this situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency. Decisions will be taken by the UEFA Executive Committee and announced tomorrow,” the organisation added in a further statement.

The final of European club football’s premier competition is scheduled to be played on May 28 at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg, which already hosted several matches at last year’s European Championship and at the 2018 World Cup held in Russia.

European football’s governing body has a major sponsorship deal with Gazprom, the Russian state energy giant.

Reuters and the Associated Press both reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the situation, that the final will be moved from St Petersburg.

UEFA has already moved the last two Champions League finals due to the pandemic from Istanbul to Lisbon in 2020, and then again from the Turkish city to Porto last year.

The Champions League final was last staged in Russia in 2008, when Manchester United defeated Chelsea on penalties in Moscow.

Zenit St Petersburg, the reigning Russian champions and current league leaders, are still involved in UEFA competition this season and were due to play Real Betis in Spain in the Europa League on Thursday. UEFA said that game would not be impacted.

A group of European lawmakers wrote to UEFA on Thursday, asking it to change the venue and to stop considering Russian cities for international football competitions.

The 2023 Champions League final is due to be held in Istanbul with Wembley in London hosting the following year and Munich’s Allianz Arena the venue for the final in 2025.

The Ukrainian league, which was due to resume this weekend after its long winter break, has been suspended.

“We’ll withstand it,” posted Shakhtar Donetsk, the 13-time Ukrainian champions who have been exiled from their already war-torn home city for eight years, on Twitter with a picture of the Ukrainian flag.

UEFA’s later statement condemned the Russian invasion.

“UEFA shares the international community’s significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine,” the organisation said.

“We remain resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine and stand ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people.”

In a separate move, German club Schalke 04 said it was removing Gazprom’s logo from its shirts due to events in Ukraine.

A senior Gazprom executive also quit the supervisory board of the Gelsenkirchen-based club after being a target of US sanctions. Matthias Warnig is CEO of the newly built but never operated Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline which is a multibillion-dollar project of Gazprom and European companies.

Critics said Schalke was used to popularise Gazprom in Germany as it pushed to construct the gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea, which bypassed Ukraine. Gazprom has been a sponsor since 2006 and provided the cash that fuelled a run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2011.

German newspaper Bild this week began covering the Gazprom logos on Schalke jerseys with Freedom for Ukraine to protest against Russia’s deepening military intervention in Ukraine.

IOC CONDEMNS BREACH OF OLYMPIC TRUCE

The International Olympic Committee said it “strongly condemns the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government,” days after the end of the closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The truce is intended to secure safe passage for athletes during the Games and, in the long term, promote the idea of working toward world peace. It runs until the end of the Paralympics, which are due to open in Beijing on March 4.

The International Paralympic Committee condemned Russia and said it held talks with sports officials in Ukraine, which still plans to compete in Beijing and requires safe passage for its athletes.

“This is a truly horrible situation, and we are greatly concerned about our National Paralympic Committee and Para athletes from Ukraine,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said. “Our top priority right now is the safety and well-being of the Ukrainian delegation, with whom we are in regular dialogue.”

Russia’s name, flag and anthem are already barred from the March 4-13 Paralympics in Beijing over previous doping disputes. Its team is due to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee.

Russia has violated the Olympic Truce three times in 14 years, fighting a war with Georgia over the disputed territory of South Ossetia during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and launching a military takeover that annexed the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics closed.

Focus is turning to Russia hosting other major sports events in the coming months.

In basketball, Barcelona said its team would not fly to Russia for two games against Russian teams Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow on Friday and Sunday in the Euroleague.

In rugby, European organisers postponed Georgia’s match with Russia on Sunday in Tbilisi in the Rugby Europe Championship. The women’s game between Spain and Russia on Saturday in Madrid was still on.

Formula One said it was closely watching the very fluid developments but made no further comment on whether its race in Sochi would be cancelled in September. Four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel said he would not compete at the Russian Grand Prix.

“I will not go,” the German driver said. “I think it’s wrong to race in the country. “I’m sorry for the innocent people that are losing their lives, that are getting killed (for) stupid reasons and a very strange and mad leadership.”

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2022