The separation of football and politics is a motto held dear by several fans of the beautiful game. However, large-scale developments such as the ongoing dispute between Russia and Ukraine cannot be swept under the rug.
As a result, UEFA announced that an extraordinary meeting of their executive committee will be held on Friday to discuss the geopolitical crisis facing the continent after Putin's government launched an attack on their neighbor.
Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the UEFA president has called an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for 10:00 CET on Friday 25 February, in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions.
— UEFA (@UEFA) February 24, 2022
One of the biggest issues for UEFA to discuss is the venue of this season's Champions League final. Hosting rights for the ultimate match, which is scheduled to take place on May 28, was awarded to the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg.
According to several sources, including the Associated Press News and CBS Sports, European football's governing body have decided to move the Champions League final out of Russia. Friday's meeting will get underway at 9:00 GMT (4 a.m. ET), meaning an official statement regarding this matter will likely come after that.
Where will the final be moved to? According to James Benge of CBS Sports, while a contingency plan is being drawn up, a specific replacement might not be decided until the latter stages of the tournament. Nonetheless, England has been touted as a possibility, with Wembley Stadium, West Ham's home ground, and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium being plausible venues.
But that's not the only footballing concern sparked by this latest crisis. Russia are set to host Poland in the World Cup playoffs and would welcome one of Sweden or the Czech Republic as well if they beat Lewandowski and Co. The country's participation in this summer's Women's European Championships also needs to be discussed, as well as Zenit's and Spartak Moscow's ongoing Europa League campaigns.
Another point of discussion is UEFA's relationship with Gazprom. In the aftermath of Russia's attack on Ukraine, Schalke announced their decision to remove the majority state-owned energy company as their shirt sponsor. It remains to be seen whether European football's governing body will take stern action with their $45-million-a-year sponsors as well.
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
