Izuchukwu Okosi
Following the political tension in Russia and Ukraine, Britain on Tuesday called for the final of the UEFA Champions League final slated for the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on May 28 to be taken away from Russia reports Prime Business Africa.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concerns about the final of Europe’s elite club competition holding in a volatile environment and considers taking the game away from Russia as a punitive measure to Russia.
President Vladimir Putin on Monday stated that Russia’s recognition of independence for areas in eastern Ukraine extended to territory currently held by Ukrainian forces.
While speaking on the deepening intervention in Ukraine, Johnson ostensibly foresees trouble with the country hosting football tournaments.
“It’s absolutely vital in this critical moment that President Putin understands that what he is doing is going to be a disaster for Russia,” Johnson told the House of Commons.
“He is going to end up with a Russia that is more isolated, a Russia that has pariah status, no chance of holding football tournaments in a Russia that invades sovereign countries.”
England has the most representatives in the competition with four clubs, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool still in the race for the title and one or even out of them conceivably reaching the final.
UEFA provided no fresh comment on Tuesday after saying over the weekend that it was “constantly and closely monitoring the situation” and had no plans to change the final venue.
However an insider at UEFA revealed to the media on the condition of anonymity that the Ukraine crisis was discussed by top-level officials at UEFA on Tuesday, including its president, Aleksander Ceferin.
Gazprom, the Russian gas company, is at the heart of European football and has longstanding commercial arrangements with UEFA.
Last summer, Gazprom announced an expansion of its sponsorship arrangement with UEFA to include the European Championship as well as the Champions and Europa Leagues. It also holds the naming rights for the stadium at which the final is due to be played (the Gazprom Arena).
FIFA council member Alexey Sorokin, who also leads the organizing committee for the final, said no discussions with UEFA had taken place about St. Petersburg losing the hosting rights.
“We are preparing for the final according to plan,” Sorokin told the TASS news agency. “We expect more than 50,000 foreign fans to arrive.”
Britain’s Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who holds the sports brief in Johnson’s cabinet, said she would discuss “serious concerns” about Russia staging the final with UEFA.
“We won’t allow President Putin to exploit events on the world stage to legitimize his illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Dorries said on Tuesday.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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