NYON, Switzerland — Sanctions from some of the world’s largest international soccer bodies are being considered as a result of the attack on Ukraine by Russian forces.
The Union of European Football Associations is scheduled to meet Friday with the possibility of revoking the UEFA Champions League final match, while the national teams for three European countries announced their desire for their World Cup qualifying matches to not take place in Russia.
UEFA announced Thursday it will meet Friday morning local time to decide the fate of the UEFA Champions League final scheduled to be played May 28 in St. Petersburg.
Further communication will be made after the meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee.
— UEFA (@UEFA) February 24, 2022
Sources told the Associated Press that UEFA officials are expected to meet at 10 a.m. CET to announce Russia will no longer host the match after Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday.
The AP source reportedly spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.
UEFA did publicly rebuke Russia and said it was dealing with the “situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency.”
UEFA released the following statement:
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.
As the governing body of European football, UEFA is working tirelessly to develop and promote football according to common European values such as peace and respect for human rights, in the spirit of the Olympic Charter. We remain resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine and stand ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people.
We are dealing with this situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency. Decisions will be taken by the UEFA Executive Committee and announced tomorrow.
As Russia’s threats toward Ukraine had grown through the week, the British government and fan groups had already called for the final not to be played in St. Petersburg, where the stadium is sponsored by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
The company is also the main sponsor of Schalke 04, but the German second-division club announced Thursday the Gazprom logo was being removed from its jerseys.
ℹ️ Following recent developments, FC Schalke 04 have decided to remove the logo of main sponsor GAZPROM from the club’s shirts. It will be replaced by lettering reading ‘Schalke 04’ instead.#S04 pic.twitter.com/9kpJLRzTQ7
— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) February 24, 2022
Critics said Schalke was used to popularize 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 fueled a run to the Champions League semifinals in 2011.
UEFA’s sponsorship by Gazprom is also under scrutiny with its branding having a significant profile this week at Champions League round of 16 games.
UEFA’s leadership had held off making a call on the Champions League final venue until Russia on Thursday started to target cities and military bases in Ukraine with airstrikes and shelling as tanks and troops rolled across the border.
Also Thursday, the football associations of Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic announced their desire for the qualifying matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar to be moved from their scheduled Russia site, “based on the current alarming development in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including the security situation.”
OŚWIADCZENIE FEDERACJI PIŁKARSKICH POLSKI, SZWECJI I CZECH. Więcej… https://t.co/fkNXQJIseH pic.twitter.com/Tc9o5POp02
— PZPN (@pzpn_pl) February 24, 2022
A scheduled match between Poland and Russia is scheduled for March 24 in Moscow.
The joint statement by the three countries referenced serious consequences and safety concerns as reasons for the appeal to move the matches and said they expect FIFA and UEFA “to react immediately and to present alternative solutions.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
