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Extraordinary meeting called by UEFA as pressure grows to move Champions League final

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has arranged an extraordinary meeting as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia escalates.

The Champions League final had been awarded to St Petersburg for this season but according to the PA news agency, contingency plans are being drawn up by European football's governing body. 

The final is scheduled to take place in the city's 68,000-capacity Gazprom Arena on May 28 but due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the venue is likely to change.
UEFA is monitoring the situation and said it will take all necessary decisions after Friday's meeting.

A UEFA statement said: "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 (09:00 GMT), in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions.

"Further communication will be made after the meeting of the UEFA executive committee."

Holders Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are all in the last 16 of the Champions League.

If another all-English final was to occur - such as last year's showpiece between Chelsea and Manchester City - there would be pressure to host it in the UK.

However, with Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur stadium already set to host other events - Championship play-off final and rugby league's Challenge Cup final - it may open the door to another venue in England's capital.

West Ham's London stadium could be one of the alternatives with the venue's chief executive Graham Gilmore telling the Telegraph: "We have a great history of putting on world-class events from Major League Baseball to sold-out concerts and of course Premier League matches.

"We are always happy to hear from event holders, and there is a clear track record of the stadium and London hosting the biggest events brilliantly."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this week told the House of Commons Russia should have "no chance of holding football tournaments."
Meanwhile, the Ukraine Premier League was set to end its winter break on Saturday but a suspension of the division has occurred.

Football in the country stopped on December 13 and will remain paused, which could have a knock-on effect for preparations for next month's World Cup qualifier with Scotland in Glasgow on March 24.

"Due to the imposition of martial law in Ukraine, the championship of Ukraine has been suspended," a statement from the Ukraine Premier League read.
Ukraine are due to face the Republic of Ireland home and away in the Nations League in June, and the Football Association of Ireland has confirmed it is in ongoing contact with the Irish Government, UEFA and its Ukrainian counterparts.

An FAI statement read: "The FAI will continue to communicate on an ongoing basis with our Government, our colleagues at UEFA and the Ukraine Association of Football with regards to the latest developments and the implications for the Ukraine vs Republic of Ireland fixture in the UEFA Nations League, currently fixed for Lviv on Tuesday, June 14th.

FIFA yet to make a decision over World Cup play-off matches

Following calls for the World Cup play-off fixtures to be moved from Russia, FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed no decision had yet been taken over the fixtures and expressed hope that the conflict could be "solved" by the time they are due to be played.

"The situation that we have all discovered this morning is obviously very tragic and very worrying and we have a duty to look at this matter seriously to analyse it," said Infantino.
"We received this letter just shortly before the meeting and we will look at it as a matter of urgency.
"The first match is one month from now and of course we hope that this whole situation will be solved before then - well before then, as soon as possible. We want to strongly believe in that.
"But we have a body in place, the bureau, who can take a decision at any time. We are analysing the situation and we will take the decision when we have to take it."

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