Russia has been stripped of hosting the UEFA Champions League in St. Petersberg today, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a special military operation in Donbass on Thursday.

The #European soccer governing body said that the May 28 final, the world's greatest ’s club football match, will be moved from St. Petersburg's #Gazprom Arena to #Paris. Stade de France in St. Denis will host the match.#ChampionsLeague #Russia #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/qSm1JUY9uG

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 25, 2022

The event will still be held on May 28, however, it will be held in Stade de France, an 80,000 seat venue as allocated by the UEFA executive committee.

"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," they said in a statement.

The 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Champions League final will move from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET.

Full statement: ⬇️

— UEFA (@UEFA) February 25, 2022

"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."

Furthermore, the committee decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs, including national teams, will be playing at neutral venues until further notice. 

Gazprom, a Russian gas-provider giant, is a main sponsor for the UEFA Champions League and European Championship - the CEO of a Gazprom subsidiary, Alexander Dyukov, is also a UEFA committee member.