- Chelsea hit with £8.6m fine from UEFA for breaking Financial Fair Play rules after submitting ‘incomplete fina Daily Mail
- Juventus banned from Conference League, Chelsea fined by UEFA – ESPN ESPN
- Chelsea pay UEFA €10m! Blues reach settlement over ‘incomplete financial reporting’ during Roman Abramovich ownership Goal.com
- Chelsea, UEFA agree €10m FFP settlement over historical ‘incomplete financial information’ We Ain’t Got No History
- Chelsea reveal Uefa resolution after ‘incomplete financial reporting’ The Independent
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LIVE Press Conference | UEFA Champions League | Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea – Chelsea Football Club
- LIVE Press Conference | UEFA Champions League | Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea Chelsea Football Club
- How should Chelsea line up against Borussia Dortmund in Champions League Round of 16, first leg? We Ain’t Got No History
- ‘I think they will get BATTERED!’ Predicting Chelsea’s UCL clash vs. Borussia Dortmund | ESPN FC ESPN UK
- Chelsea’s 23-year-old must be the man to replace Badiashile v Dortmund – TCC View The Chelsea Chronicle – Chelsea FC News
- Raheem Sterling misses out on Borussia Dortmund trip due to injury The Athletic
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Liverpool vs. Real Madrid: Live 2022 UEFA Champions League final updates as match begins amid security issues
The UEFA Champions League final is underway as Real Madrid and Liverpool kicked off at 3:36 p.m. ET in a delayed kickoff at the Stade de France. The start time was delayed by over half and hour for security reasons as Liverpool fans were delayed outside the stadium and unable to get in through limited available entrances. The first half saw Liverpool with the majority of the chances, with Sadio Mane hitting the post as Thibaut Courtois came up big in goal. On the other side, Real rarely threatened, but they did find the net late in the half via Karim Benzema, only for it to be called offside. The match entered the break level at 0-0.
You can watch the match live on CBS and Paramount+. Los Blancos will go for their 14th European crown, while Liverpool go for their seventh. The two teams met in the 1981 final, with the Reds coming out victorious, while it was Real who beat Liverpool in the 2018 final. Much has changed since the last time they met. Ahead of kickoff, we ranked the top 30 players in the final.
CBS Sports will be with you the entire way providing updates, analysis and highlights below.
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Liverpool vs. Real Madrid: Live 2022 UEFA Champions League final updates as match begins amid security issues
The game’s very best
Our staff ranked the top 30 players in this match, and No. 1 was pretty easy. You can read the entire story here, but here’s how we ranked the top three:
3. Virgil van Dijk, center back, Liverpool
After coming back from an ACL injury in his right knee that forced him to miss the entire 2020-21 season, he’s now fully back at the center of the Liverpool’s defense and he will have the most difficult task of the night to contain Karim Benzema. This is probably the most important duel on the pitch and will likely determine the final result. — Francesco Porzio
2. Mohamed Salah, right winger, Liverpool
Even amid his recent struggles for form, Salah’s class shines through and he ended the 2021-22 Premier League season as the winner of the scoring and assisting titles. Having shaken off a minor injury from the FA Cup final, expect to see the Egyptian burst out of the blocks in a bid to get revenge for the injury and defeat that Madrid inflicted on him four years ago. — James Benge
1. Karim Benzema, center forward, Real Madrid
Three goals and an assist across two thrilling semifinal legs against Manchester City further underlined the French superstar’s Ballon d’Or credentials. The 34-year-old now stands to seal what could be his fifth Champions League crown with Los Blancos — a truly incredible feat made all the more impressive by his tournament-leading overall tally of 15 goals with two more assists. Benzema has dragged this Real side, single handedly at times, to be on the cusp of what would be their 14th competition success. Not to mention that this one could be won in his homeland. — Jonathan Johnson
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Manchester City vs. Real Madrid Live: UEFA Champions League Updates
MADRID — And so here we are again, wondering if Real Madrid can summon the energy and conjure the magic one last time. Carlo Ancelotti’s team looked beaten, dazed even, against Paris St.-Germain. That was two months ago. It seemed defeated, exhausted, against Chelsea. That was four weeks ago. It is still standing. In the Champions League, at least, Real Madrid has the air of a team that has forgotten how to lose.
There is an element of self-fulfilling prophecy about Real Madrid in this competition. It wins because that is what it does. It is infused with a sense of purpose, of absolute belief, as soon as it hears that music, as soon as it glimpses that cup.
It is that, and only that, which will give Manchester City a little pause thought. Last week’s 4-3 victory at the Etihad left Pep Guardiola and his players with twin sensations. It was clear, from the off, that the Premier League champion was smoother and slicker and altogether more coherent than Real Madrid, that it played a more sophisticated and more advanced form of soccer, that it possessed a clearer vision of what it is, what it wants to be. It was an evening, in that light, that showcased that City is now where it has spent a decade trying to go.
And yet, as the staff gathered the next morning, there was no little regret, and surprise, and general befuddlement that the semifinal tie was still in the balance, a feeling that Real Madrid is not an ordinary opponent, one that bows eventually to City’s obvious superiority, but that keeps on coming, unwilling to wilt, even if it knew how. That is the effect of the spell Real Madrid can cast: a vague sense of unease, a gnawing feeling in the pit of the stomach that these things only end one way. Manchester City has the chance, and the ability, to expose that as a fallacy tonight. But then others have tried, and failed, and here we are again.
UEFA Champions League Live: Villarreal vs. Liverpool Score
VILLARREAL, Spain — Liverpool knows better than most that nothing is quite so dangerous in the Champions League as assuming a matter is settled. There was a reason Jürgen Klopp did not offer Anfield his usual euphoric, chest-thumping celebration after beating Villarreal, 2-0, last week. Nobody should make the mistake of thinking Liverpool’s place in the final is secure.
Villarreal will, as its manager Unai Emery said, need to produce the “perfect game” to prevent Klopp from guiding Liverpool to a third final in five years, but it has reason for hope: Bayern Munich lost to Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica in the quarterfinals; Gerard Moreno, the centerpiece of its attack, should be back in the team despite an injury; and it will be able to count on a boisterous, unyielding home crowd.
Villarreal, a quiet, well-heeled sort of a place on the outskirts of the industrial town of Castellon, does not make for an obvious bear pit. It has spent most of the day bathing in a torrential downpour. Its streets, even a couple of hours before kickoff, were peaceful, the only noise generated by fans of both teams cheerily trading songs.
But it is, as Emery said, a fiercely loyal place: most shop windows have been decked out in yellow and blue for the occasion. As the cliché goes, roughly half the town’s population will be in the stadium to watch Emery’s team try to pull off a miracle. Another miracle, that is: The first is Villarreal, a team from a town of this size, being here in the first place. Emery’s team will have to be perfect. But all it takes is a goal, and perfect does not seem impossible. Klopp, and Liverpool, know that better than most.
Russia suspended from all Fifa and Uefa competitions until further notice | Fifa
Fifa and Uefa have acted in unison to suspend Russian teams from international football competition on Monday as global sport closed the door on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
The most powerful bodies in football joined the International Olympic Committee in acting after days of growing protest. The suspension means Russia will not be able to face Poland in a World Cup play-off semi-final next month, while its women’s team will also be barred from this summer’s European Championship in England and its remaining club side in European competition, Spartak Moscow, will no longer compete in the Europa League.
In a joint statement the two organisations said: “Fifa and Uefa have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both Fifa and Uefa competitions until further notice.
“These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the Fifa Council and the Executive Committee of Uefa, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters. Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people.”
Uefa also announced a second highly significant move, confirming that it had cancelled a long-standing and highly lucrative sponsorship deal with Gazprom. The Russian gas company had been a sponsor of the Champions League for a decade and the final of this year’s competition was to have been played in the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg.
Last week Uefa moved the match to Paris, however, and has now severed the relationship entirely. “Uefa has today decided to end its partnership with Gazprom across all competitions,” a statement said. “The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the Uefa Champions League, Uefa national team competitions and Uefa Euro 2024.”
On Sunday, Fifa had said that Russia could continue to compete in World Cup qualifying if they changed their name and played matches on neutral grounds. An action described by Fifa as taking “initial measures”, it was resisted fiercely by Poland, Russia’s opponents in World Cup qualification. The Polish stance was supported by a number of other European nations, too, including the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
As pressure grew on Fifa on Monday a change in direction was signalled by an intervention from the IOC. Citing the mission of the “Olympic Movement” to “contribute to peace through sport and to unite the world in peaceful competition beyond all political disputes”, the IOC issued a lengthy resolution calling on all sporting organisations to act.
“In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants,” the resolution read, “the IOC Executive Board recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions”.
The IOC added a condition, however, which could yet mean Russia competes in the Winter Paralympics which start in Beijing this weekend. In situations where short notice “for organisational or legal reasons” meant Russia and its ally in the invasion of Ukraine, Belarus, could not be excluded, they “should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams”, the IOC said. This would be a similar sanction to that applied to Russia at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, where “no national symbols, colours, flags or anthems should be displayed”.
The Ukrainian delegation for the Winter Paralympics is yet to arrive in Beijing due to the invasion and on Monday evening the British Olympic Association called for Russian athletes to be banned immediately from competition.
“Together with the National Olympic Committee of Germany, [we demand] the immediate exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the international sports family until further notice,” the BOA said. “We call on the international sports federations to ban athletes representing Russia and Belarus from competitions for the time being and to suspend Russian and Belarusian officials from their positions.”
There are further questions now likely to be asked over the involvement of Russian athletes in non-Russian teams, and also in individual sports. One of the most prominent examples is Daniil Medvedev who took over the mantle of the men’s world No 1 tennis player from Novak Djokovic on Monday and over the weekend made a statement calling for peace.
The Ukrainian Tennis Federation board member Seva Kevlych told Reuters that Medvedev should not be allowed to compete in grand slam matches. “Let [Medvedev] play on the ATP Tour but grand slams are ITF events and if you lose the possibility to play in grand slams he could never be world No 1,” Kevlych said. “He shouldn’t play in the French Open, US Open and Wimbledon.”
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Kevlych’s words echoed a broader, sweeping agenda for action against Russia issued by Ukraine’s ministry of sport. Arguing that “Russian authorities use sport achievements for propaganda of their own ideology” and as “a tool for popularizing ideas of bullying, murder and destruction”, the ministry called not only for athletes to be excluded from competition but for Russian representatives to also be removed from governing bodies and Russian companies from being allowed to act as sponsors.
UEFA moves Champions League Final from St Petersburg as sporting world reacts to Russian invasion of Ukraine
The 2022 final was scheduled to be held at Krestovsky Stadium, which is sponsored by Russian state-owned company Gazprom, but will now be moved to the Stade de France in Paris to be played on the original date of May 28.
“UEFA wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to French Republic President Emmanuel Macron for his personal support and commitment to have European club football’s most prestigious game moved to France at a time of unparalleled crisis,” a statement from UEFA said on Friday.
“Together with the French government, UEFA will fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure the provision of rescue for football players and their families in Ukraine who face dire human suffering, destruction and displacement.”
UEFA added that Russian and Ukrainian clubs still competing in UEFA competitions — the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League — will have to play home matches at neutral venues “until further notice”.
On Thursday, UEFA released a statement saying it “strongly condemns” Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine: “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.”
Wider football world reacts
Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi scored twice for Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday night, revealing a “No War in Ukraine” shirt under his jersey in celebration of his first goal.
Playing in Greece against Olympiacos hours after his country had been invaded by Russia, Malinovskyi scored the first of two stunning strikes midway through the second half of the knockout stage second leg.
The 28-year-old proceeded to lift his jersey to reveal an undershirt with the anti-war message written on, before adding a second goal mere minutes later with a staggering strike from outside the box.
His brace helped secure a 3-0 victory on the night and a 5-1 aggregate win for the Italian side, who now move into the last 16 of the competition.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said that on the morning of the game he had asked Malinovskyi — who has parents and family in Ukraine — if he had felt ready to play the match.
“We are living in a special moment and for him it is even more so,” Gasperini told Sky Italia.
“This morning, I asked him if he felt like playing because he still has parents and family in Ukraine. I’m happy for this brace.
“Sometimes, football doesn’t solve problems, however, a small contribution can be made to make everyone feel closer: we hope that this thing can be resolved.”
Barcelona and Napoli players joined to display a ‘Stop War’ banner before their Europa League second-leg knockout match in Naples.
Moments before kick-off, the starting players of both teams assembled to hold up a white banner with the message capitalized in red.
Meanwhile, German football club FC Schalke 04 says it will remove the Gazprom logo from their jerseys and replace it with the name of the team.
But the club hasn’t revealed whether it is reviewing ties with the state-owned Russian gas giant, which has sponsored the team since 2007.
A seven-time winner of the German first division, Schalke are playing in the second tier this year following relegation from the Bundesliga last season.
Ukrainian footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko, who plays for English Premier League leader Manchester City, took to Instagram on Tuesday to voice his support for Ukrainians amid escalating tensions with Russia.
“The whole civilized world is worried about the situation in my country,” Zinchenko, who has 48 caps for the Ukraine national team, wrote.
“I can’t stand back and [not] put across my point. The country in which I was born and raised. A country whose colors I defend in the international sports arena. A country that we are trying to glorify and develop. A country whose borders must remain intact.
“My country belongs to Ukrainians and no one will ever be able to appropriate it. We will not give up! Glory to Ukraine.”
Ukrainian football icon and the national team’s former manager Andriy Shevchenko is pleading for the world to help his homeland.
“My people and my family are under attack,” Shevchenko said in an Instagram post.
The ex-footballer said Ukraine and its people “want peace and territorial integrity. Please I ask you to support our country and call the Russian government to stop their aggression and violation of international law.
“We only want peace. War is not the answer,” Shevchenko added.
Meanwhile, Fyodor Smolov became one of the first Russian footballers to speak out against his country’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.
The 32-year-old — capped 45 times by the Russian national team — posted a picture of a black screen on Instagram with a caption that read: “No to war!!!!”
Smolov currently plays with Dynamo Moscow after signing for the Russian Premier League side in January.
On Thursday, the football federations of Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic said their World Cup qualifying games scheduled to take place at the end of March should not be held in Russia.
“The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations,” a statement from the three nations reads.
FIFA on Thursday released a statement saying that it “condemns the use of force by Russia in Ukraine and any type of violence to resolve conflicts.” The statement went on to say that “FIFA calls on all parties to restore peace through constructive dialogue” and that it “continues to express its solidarity to the people affected by this conflict.”
Klitschko brothers to take up arms
Ukrainian former world heavyweight champion boxer Wladimir Klitschko posted a passionate plea for the defense of democracy on Linkedin on Thursday.
Writing from Kyiv, the 45-year-old labeled the Russian invasion as “Putin’s war” and the result of the Russian president’s “megalomania.”
“He [Putin] makes it clear that he wants to destroy the Ukrainian state and the sovereignty of its people,” Klitschko wrote.
“Words are followed by missiles and tanks. Destruction and death come upon us. That’s it, blood will mix with tears.
“We must face reality and have the courage to draw the conclusions for our future and that of our children. This is a blatant violation of international law.”
A Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist at Atlanta in 1996, Klitschko asserted that he and his country “basically do not want this war,” but now rely on Western governments to defend democracy “before it is too late.”
“This war against my country is not only the result of one man’s madness, but also the result of years of weakness in Western democracies.
“This madness must be stopped now by stepping up deterrents. Our governments need to say things loud and clear.”
Vitali Klitschko said he had no choice but to take up arms and fight alongside his brother for his country.
Nicknamed “Dr. Ironfist” during his fighting days and also a former world heavyweight champion, Vitali Klitschko has served as the Mayor of Kyiv since 2014.
“I don’t have another choice, I have to do that. I’ll be fighting,” Vitali Klitschko told British broadcaster ITV on ‘Good Morning Britain’.
The 50-year-old said that the main objective currently was to support critical infrastructure and ensure the continued supply of basic utilities like gas, water, and heating to Ukrainian citizens.
“I believe in Ukraine, I believe in my country, I believe in my people,” he added. “Ukraine was always a peaceful country, a peaceful people, but right now we have to take weapons and fight.”
Vettel, Verstappen: No to Russian Grand Prix
Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel says he won’t race in Russia if the Grand Prix proceeds as planned on September 25 in Sochi.
“My own opinion is I should not go, I will not go,” the German, who races for Aston Martin, told reporters at a press conference on Thursday, saying “I’m sorry for the innocent people that are losing their lives, that are getting killed for stupid reasons and a very, very strange and mad leadership.
Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen said that it would not be “correct” to race in a country at war, but that the decision to race in Russia would not be his alone to make.
“When a country is at war, it’s not correct to race there, that’s for sure,” the Red Bull driver told reporters.
“But it’s not only what I think, it’s also how the whole paddock is going to decide what we’re going to do next.”
The drivers’ comments come after F1 said it was “closely watching” developments.
“F1 is closely watching the very fluid developments like many others and at this time has no further comment on the race scheduled for September,” a statement released on Thursday read.
“We will continue to monitor the situation very closely.”
On Wednesday, Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, who races for Haas, said he was confident his home race would go ahead.
“I’m not struggling at all because I’ve always been a big supporter of sports without politics,” Mazepin told Sky Sports on Wednesday.
“Of course, from the understanding that we’ve had with Formula 1, the race is going and you will surely see me there.”
IOC strongly condemns breach of Olympic Truce
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday strongly condemned the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government for invading Ukraine.
“Following recent events, the IOC is deeply concerned about the safety of the Olympic Community in Ukraine. It has established a task force to closely monitor the situation and to coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine where possible,” the IOC said in a statement.
The Olympic Truce is a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 2, 2021, which, among other things, calls upon all Member States to cooperate with the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee “to use sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
The truce went into effect seven days before the February 4 start of the Beijing Winter Olympics and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games, which are scheduled to conclude on March 13.
UEFA to move Champions League final after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; Poland won’t travel for WC qualifier
UEFA has called an extraordinary meeting of its executive committee for Friday to discuss the deepening crisis between Russia and Ukraine. European football’s governing body is set to move the final of this season’s Champions League on May 28, which was originally due to take place in Saint Petersburg’s Krestovsky Stadium, after Russia stepped up its campaign against its neighbor with a full-scale military attack on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Missiles have reportedly landed close to several major Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, prompting further outcry from the international community. The United States is among those nations who have confirmed that it will issue sanctions against Russia, the Vladimir Putin regime and his allies; the details of America’s package will be announced later on Thursday. In such circumstances, it is inevitable that the venue of European football’s showpiece match will move.
“Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine in the last 24 hours, the UEFA President has decided to call an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for Friday 25 February at 10:00 CET, in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions,” said a statement. “Further communication will be made after the meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee.”
Furthermore, UEFA issued a statement to condemn the Russian military invasion and to extend solidarity to residents of Ukraine.
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.
CBS Sports sources confirm that UEFA is drawing up contingency plans for alternative venues, though a specific replacement may not be selected until later in the Champions League tournament when it becomes clearer which countries will potentially be involved in the final. London has been intimated as a possible host city and West Ham’s 60,000 capacity home stadium has intimated it would be interested in holding the final, which has involved five English teams in the last four years. Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are both currently in use the day of the final.
The Champions League final is not the only matter to be addressed. Questions have also been raised about UEFA’s involvement with Gazprom. The majority state-owned energy company has sponsored the Champions League since 2012, adverts for the company have been a staple of match broadcasts ever since. The deal is reported to be worth $45 million a year.
Politicians in the European Parliament have called for that association to end, saying in an open letter: “We call on you to stop considering Saint Petersburg and other Russian cities as venues for international football competitions and to choose as a first and very urgent step an alternative venue for the Champions League final on May 28, 2022.
“In addition, we appeal to you to convene a special meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee, to terminate cooperation with Gazprom as UEFA sponsor and to consider sanctions against individual Russian officials who are complicit in the violation of international law.”
German club Schalke 04 said it will remove Gazprom as its jersey sponsor.
In footballing terms, Russia are due to host Poland in a World Cup qualifier on March 24, if they won that match they would also play at home to the winner of the match between Sweden and the Czech Republic. The football associations of all three countries say they will not travel to Russia.
A joint statement said: “Based on the current alarming development in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine including the security situation the Football Associations of Poland (PZPN), Sweden (SvFF) and Czech Republic (FAR) express their firm position that the playoff matches to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, scheduled for 24 and 29 March 2022, should not be played in the territory of the Russian Federation.
“The signatories to this appeal do not consider travelling to Russia and playing football matches there. The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations. Therefore, we expect FIFA and UEFA to react immediately and to present alternative solutions regarding places where these approaching playoff matches could be played.”
The country’s involvement in this summer’s Women’s European Championships and men’s Nations League fixtures will also be up for discussion. Real Betis are due to play Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg in a Europa League qualifier on Thursday.
Zenit and Spartak Moscow, who will be in the hat for the Europa League last 16, are the last remaining Russian representatives in European competition this season. No Ukrainian sides qualified for the latter stages of UEFA’s three competitions. Ukraine’s domestic league was due to resume this weekend but has been suspended in light of the conflict.
Ukraine international Yaroslav Rakitskyi plays for Zenit, he posted a picture of his country’s flag on his Instagram along with the caption “I’m Ukrainian.” Meanwhile, several Brazilian footballers have gathered in a hotel where they have asked for updates. Brazil has the most foreign representatives in the Ukrainian league, with 30.
Marlon, one of 13 Brazilians on the Shakhtar Donetsk roster, said: “We are here asking you for help through this video due to the lack of fuel that exists in the city, closed border, closed airspace, there is no way for us to leave. We ask a lot of support from the government of Brazil, so that it can help us. And I hope you can help us by promoting this video so that it can reach as many people as possible.”
Shakhtar left their home city in 2014 when conflict first began with Russia in east Ukraine. They have played in Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium since 2020. Their manager, Roberto De Zerbi, said he awoke to the sound of bombs but is not heeding Italian advice to leave the country.
“I am staying in my room. Today is not a good day,” De Zerbi told Sportitalia. “I’ve been waiting for the federation to suspend the season until this happened. However, I didn’t move. I am here to do sport and I could not turn my back on the fans.
“There are 13 Brazilian players here and my staff. We could have returned home, but we preferred to wait. Last night we woke up to the noise of explosions.” Ukraine’s airspace is now closed to civilian flights, meaning De Zerbi and millions of others may not be able to leave the capital.
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Champions League final in Russia set to be moved by UEFA
UEFA are set to strip Saint Petersburg of the hosting rights for 2022 Champions League final, sources have told ESPN, after calling an extraordinary meeting of its executive committee following Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Thursday.
The Krestovsky Stadium, a host venue for the 2018 World Cup, was due to stage the Champions League final on May 28 after initially being awarded the game in 2021 before it was moved back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen.”
World leaders decried Russia’s actions, and UEFA are now prepared to act on their decision to stage this season’s Champions League final in Saint Petersburg.
UEFA said in a statement: “Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the UEFA president has called an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for 10 a.m. CET [4 a.m. ET] on Friday 25 February, in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions.
“Further communication will be made after the meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee.”
Sources have told ESPN that alternative venues are being considered for the final, with Wembley Stadium in London not in contention due to being booked for the EFL playoffs on the same date.
But with Russia now facing global condemnation for its actions against Ukraine, sources have told ESPN it is inevitable that the Champions League final will be moved.
UEFA are also likely to discuss the ongoing involvement of Russian teams in their club competitions during Friday’s meeting.
Meanwhile, sources have told ESPN that FIFA are monitoring the situation around next month’s World Cup playoffs with Russia scheduled face to Poland in Moscow.
Ukraine are also due to play in the World Cup playoffs, scheduled to face Scotland on March 24 at Hampden Park.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.