UEFA moves Champions League Final from St. Petersburg as sporting world reacts to Russian invasion of Ukraine

The 2022 final was scheduled to be held at Krestovsky Stadium, which is sponsored by Russian state-owned company Gazprom, but will now be moved to the Stade de France in Paris to be played on the original date of May 28.”UEFA wishes to express its 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,” a statement from UEFA said on Friday.”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 added that Russian and Ukrainian clubs still competing in UEFA competitions — the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League — will have to play home matches at neutral venues “until further notice.”Vitali Klitschko said he had no choice but to take up arms and fight alongside his brother for his country.Nicknamed “Dr. Ironfist” during his fighting days and also a former world heavyweight champion, Vitali Klitschko has served as the Mayor of Kyiv since 2014.”I don’t have another choice, I have to do that. I’ll be fighting,” Vitali Klitschko told British broadcaster ITV on “Good Morning Britain.”The 50-year-old said that the main objective currently was to support critical infrastructure and ensure the continued supply of basic utilities like gas, water, and heating to Ukrainian citizens.”I believe in Ukraine, I believe in my country, I believe in my people,” he added. “Ukraine was always a peaceful country, a peaceful people, but right now we have to take weapons and fight.”IOC strongly condemns breach of Olympic TruceMeanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday strongly condemned the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government for invading Ukraine.”Following recent events, the IOC is deeply concerned about the safety of the Olympic Community in Ukraine. It has established a task force to closely monitor the situation and to coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine where possible,” the IOC said in a statement.The Olympic Truce is a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 2, 2021, which, among other things, calls upon all Member States to cooperate with the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee “to use sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”The truce went into effect seven days before the February 4 start of the Beijing Winter Olympics and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games, which are scheduled to conclude on March 13.On Friday, the IOC urged all sporting federations to relocate or cancel events currently planned to be held in Russia or Belarus in light of the breach of the Olympic Truce. In recent weeks, Russia has amassed a significant number of troops, vehicles and tanks in Belarus near the border with Ukraine, during which time the two countries have held joint military exercises. On Thursday, troops and military vehicles entered Ukraine via Belarus.