The Russian Ministry of Sports regrets the decision taken by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to move the Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris, the ministry's press service told reporters.
“Russia has always been and remains the guarantor of its obligations to host major international sporting events, including football ones, at the highest level. Our position is unchanged - sport should remain outside of politics and not be a means of manipulation and infringement of anyone's interests, ”the message says.
On February 25, the UEFA Executive Committee, due to the situation in Donbass, announced the postponement of the Champions League final, which was supposed to be held on May 28 at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, to the Stade de France.
The head of the RFU called the decision to postpone the Champions League final from St. Petersburg political Football On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine to liberate Donbass, "demilitarize and denazify Ukraine." It is not going to occupy the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed.
UEFA previously condemned the special operation of Russian troops in Ukraine and announced a ban on holding matches involving clubs and teams in tournaments under its auspices in Russia and Ukraine.
The head of the RFU, Alexander Dyukov, said that "the decision to transfer the venue for the Champions League final was dictated by political reasons," and that the RFU does not support the decision to transfer any matches involving Russian teams to neutral territory.
bbabo.Net