On Thursday, a group of officials from the European Union asked governing body, UEFA, to reconsider their venue for the finals. It was supposed to take place in St. Petersburg in the last week of May.
They were also asked to not hold any international football tournaments in Russian cities. Along with venues, they were asked to cut ties with a long-term sponsor, Gazprom.”We call on you to stop considering St. Petersburg and other Russian cities as venues for international football competitions.
“In addition, we appeal to you to convene a special meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee, to terminate cooperation with Gazprom as UEFA sponsor,” said EU in a letter to UEFA, as PTI reports.
The tension between Ukraine and Russia is on the rise. The latest action by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to announce a “military operation” in Ukraine has placed more pressure on UEFA to change the venue as soon as possible.
Organizing a high octane football game in the middle of a crisis is logistically hard. And the fans attending the match might cancel their tickets due to fear.
Travelling to and from for the venue might be dangerous for fans and media, and that will hurt UEFA’s ticket sales and broadcasting views. Although, certainly, St. Petersburg is not the venue, we still waiting on confirmation from UEFA about the venue.
