Liz Truss tells English teams to boycott Champions League final as Manchester United boss

MPs have today warned UEFA chiefs against ‘quaffing champagne and caviar’ with Vladimir Putin, as pressure grows on the footballing body to move this year’s lucrative Champions League final out of Russia in response to its aggression in eastern Ukraine.

Minister Liz Truss today became the latest politician to add her name to the list of those urging UEFA to take action, even calling English teams to boycott the showpiece game if it is allowed to go ahead as planned in St Petersburg on May 28.

The Foreign Secretary – speaking after Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday told MPs it would be ‘inconceivable’ for the match to go ahead in St Petersburg – said she would ‘not want to be playing’ in Russia given Putin‘s actions in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Tory MP David Johnston today urged UEFA to consider its position on hosting the match at St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena.

The politician, a fan of Premier League side Liverpool, one of the teams who are in the running to make this year’s final, argued in a letter to the Times: ‘Can UEFA really justify the spectacle of the football elite quaffing champagne and caviar with Putin while his tanks roll across a sovereign territory? 

‘This is not like an Olympic Games, which come along only every four years and can’t be moved very easily after years of planning. 

‘This is a simple decision that requires UEFA to take a stand and deny Putin the status that hosting such an event gives a country. It is a status he does not deserve.’ 

His comments came as former Liverpool ace Jamie Redknapp today gave his view, saying that footballing bosses must ensure the safety of fans ‘wherever the final is played’.

But asked whether players should take their own stand, the former England midfielder said they ‘can’t get involved’.

Speaking to MailOnline, he said: ‘As a player, you can’t get involved. You are told what to do and you do it. 

‘Yes, occasionally some players take a firm stand on some issue they feel particularly strongly about.

‘But you’re in a team environment and you don’t want to jeopardise anything, so you do what the club tells you to do.

The comments come after UEFA chiefs yesterday held emergency talks about moving the lucrative game away from St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena.

Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are said to be in the reckoning as replacement venues, with four English sides, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City still left in the competition. 

It is understood UEFA would prefer to wait until the semi-final line-up is confirmed before choosing a new venue for the final – which is watched by more than 380million people worldwide. 

Last year’s final was moved at short notice due to Covid restrictions. The game was meant to be held in Turkey, which at the time was on the UK’s red travel list. But it was transferred to Porto’s Estadio do Dragao after English sides Chelsea and Man City made the final. 

Former Liverpool ace Jamie Redknapp today gave his view, saying that footballing bosses must ensure the safety of fans ‘wherever the final is played’. Meanwhile, Tory MP David Johnston today urged UEFA to consider its position on hosting the match at St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena

UEFA are set to strip Russia of the Champions League final, due to be hosted in St Petersburg. Pictured: The Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg

Her comments come after UEFA bosses yesterday held emergency talks about moving the showpiece away from St Petersburg amid the escalating threat of an all out Russian invasion of its neighbour. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin

The Foreign Secretary today said she would ‘not want to be playing’ in St Petersburg – where the final is due to be held on May 28 – given President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into eastern Ukraine

Manchester United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick said it was for UEFA chiefs and politicians to decide on what will happen with the match – before adding that avoiding war was ‘more important actually than a Champions League game, to be honest’

As the row raged on last night, Manchester United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick said it was for UEFA bosses and politicians to decide on what will happen with the match – before adding that avoiding war was ‘more important actually than a Champions League game’.  

Today Ms Truss, who earlier this month flew to Moscow to urge de-escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine, had her say on the matter as part of a round of interviews. 

Asked by LBC host Nick Ferrari if an English club side should boycott the final should it be played in Russia, Ms Truss said: ‘Yes. If I was them I would boycott it.

‘I would personally not want to be playing in a football match in St Petersburg given what the Putin regime is doing.’ 

She had earlier told BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme that it would be ‘appalling’ for Russia to be allowed to host the showpiece game. 

Boris Johnson yesterday became one of the first to publicly call for UEFA to take action, telling MPs he thought it was ‘inconceivable’ that final could go ahead in Russia.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries also vowed the Government would ‘not allow Putin to exploit events on the world stage to legimistie his illegal invasion of Ukraine’.

Others politicians including former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch and Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy have also called on UEFA to find a new venue.

Meanwhile, David Davies, former executive director of the FA, believes UEFA will take the decision to move the final shortly.

‘I expect a decision on this imminently. In the current circumstances I can’t see how English clubs or others still in the Champions League would be travelling to Russia on May 28,’ he told Sportsmail.

The Champions League final is due to be played at the 68,000-capacity Gazprom Arena, home of Zenit St Petersburg. 

However, aside from the ugly optics of allowing the match to take place in Russia, there are logistical issues.

UEFA know bans on supporters travelling to Russia are likely to be enforced by foreign offices, including the UK’s.

That was one of several issues outlined to Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin at yesterday’s meeting.

Tottenham and Wembley are yet to be approached but Spurs are open to what would be a lucrative contract.

A switch to Wembley would require the League Two play-off final — a direct clash on May 28 — and the Championship final the following day to be shifted.

The EFL are understood to be happy to discuss moving their matches.

Man United’s manager interim boss Ralf Rangnick was yesterday asked about moving the final venue.

The United boss, whose side face La Liga Champions Atletico Madrid in the competition’s Round of 16 tonight, said: ‘It’s still a long way to the final and if we are to have a chance, then we need to beat Atletico first. 

‘We are fully aware this is not the easiest of all draws we could get and then what would happen is maybe for UEFA and maybe some politicians to decide upon. 

‘I think we all hope, not only here in England but in the whole of Europe, if not the rest of the world, that no things will escalate, nobody could be interested in a sort of war within Europe.

‘This is more important actually than a Champions League game to be honest.’

It comes after Boris Johnson yesterday told MPs in the Commons: ‘I think it is inconceivable that major international football tournaments can take place in Russia after the invasion of a sovereign country.’ 

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries then followed up with her view in a Twitter post.

She wrote: ‘I have serious concerns about the sporting events due to be held in Russia, such as the Champions League Final, and will discuss with the relevant governing bodies. 

‘We won’t allow President Putin to exploit events on the world stage to legitimise his illegal invasion of Ukraine.’

Labour’s David Lammy also backed the calls for the final to be moved, telling BBC Breakfast that he believed the event should not be held in Russia this year.

He said: ‘No, I don’t believe it should.’

However he stopped short of calling for a boycott, saying: ‘That would be a matter of the governing bodies of football. But let’s be clear, given the situation that’s emerged, I would not expect it to go ahead in St Petersburg.’  

Meanwhile experts say it is possible for UEFA to move the game under contract law.

Last year’s final between Manchester City and eventual winners Chelsea was due to be held in Turkey, which at the time was on the UK’s red travel list.

Because of fears players from the two sides would have to isolate on their return to the UK, UEFA agreed to move the match to Porto’s Estadio do Dragao. 

Sports marketing expert Tim Crow said that terminating a contract like the one to hold the Champions League final was generally the result of a company not being able to pay its bills or doing ‘something that would bring what it’s sponsoring into disrepute’. 

He told the Financial Times: ‘You’d have to show cause to tear up this sponsorship contract. That would be a big call.’ 

It comes as Britain yesterday announced sanctions on five Russian banks and three oligarchs following Russia’s decision to send 10,000 troops into Ukraine’s breakaway eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after Putin recognised them as independent.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to apologise yesterday after saying in the Commons yesterday that Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich was ‘already facing sanctions’ despite that not being the case. 

Chelsea declined to respond and Mr Johnson’s comments were later clarified.  

Wembley and Tottenham are ready to take on hosting duties for the showpiece event in May. Pictured: The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (pictured)

A switch to Wembley (pictured) would require the League Two play-off final — a direct clash on May 28 — and the Championship final the following day to be shifted. The EFL are understood to be happy to discuss moving their matches

The PM’s spokesperson said that Mr Johnson had ‘mis-spoke’ and ‘operationally the parliamentary record will be clarified at the earliest opportunity’. 

Mr Johnson told MPs: ‘It’s absolutely vital that President Putin understands what he is doing is going to be a disaster for Russia. 

‘He is going to end up with… a Russia that is more isolated, a Russia that has pariah status, no chance of holding football tournaments.’ 

The Champions League has been sponsored by majority Russian state-owned Gazprom since 2012.

That relationship is likely to come under the spotlight and several members of the European parliament have already called for it to be terminated.

The Polish FA (PZPN) revealed they had been in touch with FIFA. 

A spokesperson said: ‘Due to the tense political situation in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, as well as possible further escalation and the beginning of an armed conflict, the Polish Football Association asked FIFA to urgently clarify the issues related to the organisation of the Russia-Poland World Cup play-off, scheduled for March 24 in Moscow. 

‘The role of the Polish Football Association is to provide Polish footballers with optimal conditions for preparation and performances in international matches.

‘Political decisions remain in the hands of state authorities and international bodies.

‘However, being aware of the potential threats related to the current situation, we are waiting for the position of the governing bodies of the world federation.

‘At the same time, the PZPN emphasises that this case concerns not only the Poland national team, but also the national teams of Sweden and the Czech Republic, which could potentially face Russia in Moscow in a possible play-off final.’

FIFA said they were monitoring the situation.

There are no Russians currently playing in the Premier League, but there are three Ukrainians — West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko, Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton’s Vitalii Mykolenko. Each will be offered support by their clubs if needed.

It comes as it was revealed that Putin has moved stockpiles of blood and medical supplies to Russian troops positioned on the Ukrainian border, in a move U.S. President Joe Biden warned was in preparation for ‘a massive military attack’ against Ukraine.

A huge military convoy of more than 100 military trucks with soldiers was also seen heading towards the Ukrainian border where 190,000 Russian troops are already massed, raising fears Putin is about to stage a land-grab in eastern Ukraine.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is closest to that border, and has long been suspected as a possible target in a Russian invasion, according to western analysts.

Putin has already moved more than 10,000 Russian troops into Ukraine’s breakaway eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after he recognised them as independent. Some 6,000 troops were sent to Donetsk, 5,000 to Luhansk and 1,500 to the city of Horlivka, a source with links to Ukrainian intelligence said.

Biden said it defies logic to think Putin has taken such extensive military preparations, including putting 190,000 Russian troops on the border and moving blood supplies to those areas, for reasons other than invading Ukraine.

‘This is the beginning of a Russian invasion. You don’t need blood unless you’re planning to start a war,’ the U.S President declared.

Biden was among world leaders to hit back against the Russian strongman for sending Russian troops into Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. 

The President announced he was moving American troops, fighter jets and helicopters to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on NATO’s eastern flank as a defensive move and imposing heavy financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs.

The UK and EU also responded with sanctions after Russian legislators authorised Putin to use military force outside the country, a move that could pave the way for a wider invasion of Ukraine after he rolled troops into rebel-held areas.

Holding a press conference to defend his decision today, Putin raised fears he is about to stage a land-grab in eastern Ukraine by saying his ‘peacekeeping’ mission will cover the whole of Donetsk and Luhansk regions including areas held by Ukraine.

Putin denied that Russia has already sent in troops but vowed that he will ‘fulfil its obligations’ if necessary. He also issued a fresh list of demands to Ukraine – calling on Kiev to drop its NATO bid, declare neutrality, ‘demilitarize’, and negotiate directly with separatists. It is expected the demands will be rejected out of hand.

As Russia’s troops rolled in, fighting in the region escalated – with shells striking a power plant on the Ukrainian side of the line Tuesday morning after explosions killed two of Kiev’s men and wounded 12 overnight.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had earlier led the Western response to Russia, ripping up a deal to open the Nord Stream 2 gas pipe – a move that will cost Russia billions of dollars in revenue but also hurt his own economy, saying that Putin’s actions must have ‘consequences’.

Boris Johnson then announced sanctions on five Russian banks – Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and Black Sea Bank – and three ‘very high net wealth’ individuals – Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg, and Igor Rotenberg – in what he called a ‘first barrage’, accusing Putin of ‘a renewed invasion’.  

Boris Rotenberg, a former judo training partner of Putin, is the co-owner of SMP Bank while Igor Rotenberg is his nephew. Igor became a billionaire after being handed a raft of investments by his father Arkady – who is currently fighting his ex-wife over ownership of a £27 million mansion in Surrey. 

Timchenko is Russia’s sixth richest man thanks to his ownership of investment firm Volga Group, and also an ice hockey fanatic.  

Russian artillery pieces are pictured in Rostov-on-Don, on the Russian side of the Ukrainian border, on Tuesday – as Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to advance on to Ukrainian territory

Putin is thought to have moved thousands of troops into rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine today (dark red area on the map), but there are fears he will try to seize control of the wider regions that separatists lay claim to (lighter shade area)

The EU also announced new sanctions on Russia that will blacklist more politicians, lawmakers and officials, ban EU investors from trading in Russian state bonds, and target imports and exports with separatist entities – but they did not go as far as sanctioning Putin. 

Meanwhile the White House began describing Putin’s actions as an ‘invasion’ following hours of dithering, paving the way for Biden to impose his crippling financial sanctions on Russia and send more U.S. troops to the Baltic states on NATO’s eastern flank after his resolve initially appeared to be wavering. 

A huge military convoy of more than 100 trucks with soldiers was on Monday night seen heading in the direction of the Ukrainian border in Russia’s Belgorod region, a witness told Reuters.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, is closest to that border, and has long been suspected as a possible target in a Russian invasion, according to western analysts.

Satellite imagery over the past 24 hours also shows several new troop and equipment deployments in western Russia and more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of tents at a small airfield in southern Belarus, which borders Ukraine, according to U.S. firm Maxar.   

The images also showed a new field hospital has been added to a military garrison in western Russia close to the border with Ukraine.  

Heavy equipment transporters, used for moving tanks, artillery and other heavy equipment, were also seen near the Ukraine border in western Russia, as well as several new deployments of troops. 

President Biden warned he expected Putin to go much further than sending his troops into eastern Ukraine’s breakaway regions and ‘launch a massive military attack against Ukraine’.  

He told reporters on Tuesday: ‘We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further in launching a massive military attack against Ukraine. 

‘There are still well over 150,000 Russian troops surrounding Ukraine, and as I said, Russian forces remain positioned to Belarus to attack Ukraine from the north, including warplanes and offensive missile systems.

‘Russia’s moved troops closer to Ukraine’s border with Russia. Russia’s naval vessels are manoeuvring in the Black Sea to Ukraine’s south including amphibious assault ships, missile cruisers, and submarines.

‘Russia has moved supplies of blood and medical equipment into position on their border. You don’t need blood unless you plan on starting a war.’       

IAN HERBERT: UEFA, up to their neck in Russian money, must find their moral compass NOW. There is no time to waste – strip the Champions League final from thug Vladimir Putin’s hands 

By Ian Herbert for the Daily Mail 

Since discussions on the subject have apparently been going on for some days in the corridors of Nyon, you would imagine the question of whether Russia gets to stage the Champions League final, at the St Petersburg stadium which was a Vladimir Putin vanity project, would have been resolved by UEFA now.

But this is sport we are discussing, a realm where money talks and any notion of a moral compass has vanished. 

So, as of Tuesday night, all we had from the governing body was the kind of nauseating press-release-speak which we have become painfully accustomed to, as narcissists like Putin have bathed in sport’s reflected glories.

‘We are constantly and closely monitoring the situation,’ UEFA said in a statement. ‘Any decision would be made in due course, if necessary.’

The chances of the venue being moved do exist. Holding the event in the Russian city would be an embarrassment against this backdrop. But for now, nothing. 

While millions of people the world over burn with indignation at Putin’s annexation of a free, independent sovereign nation, UEFA are just hoping that the strength of England’s football teams will come to their help. 

If all four make the semis, they might just get away with moving the final to England. 

The final is due to take place in Saint Petersburg and the situation should have been resolved 

UEFA, like so many businesses in football, are conflicted as they are up to their neck in Russian money. 

The Russian state energy outfit Gazprom pays £30million a year to sponsor the Champions League and last summer announced an expansion of that deal to include the European Championship and the Champions and Europa Leagues. 

It also holds the naming rights for the stadium at which the final is due to be played, the Gazprom Arena.

‘UEFA can’t afford to see a high-profile sponsor walk away,’ one financial analyst said yesterday, steeped in the numbers when there was clearly a far bigger picture to see.

There is no doubt that sport has the capability to hurt ice hockey-loving Putin, who is always so desperate for its promotional riches. 

When the Russian president won the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and discovered his nation’s athletes were inadequate, he put them through the state-sponsored cheating operation which was later uncovered by WADA.

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, made sure Russia was never properly banned for that doping outrage

Yet there never seem to be any consequences. Russia’s great friend Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, saw to it that the country has never been properly banned from competition for that doping outrage. UEFA’s response has been no different.

The decision that the St Petersburg Stadium — built for the 2018 World Cup — should be selected for the May 28 final was astonishing given that the doping scandal means Russia will be banned from November’s World Cup in Qatar, should they even qualify.

They will play, of course, but under a ‘neutral flag’. The team were free to play at last summer’s Euros because the tournament was technically not defined as a ‘major event organisation’ and so did not fall within the aegis of the WADA ban.

That is how Russia gets away with it in sport, a technicality here and a sleight of hand there. And when anyone dares to challenge them, we get the same squeals of conspiracy from this mendacious, risible regime. 

When Sportsmail, in the aftermath of the Salisbury poisonings, questioned the legitimacy of the nation hosting the 2018 World Cup, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs published an image of our page and complained of ‘a full-scale Western media campaign to discredit Russia and undermine its credibility as the host of this sporting event’.

The doping scandal means Russia would be banned from November’s World Cup in Qatar, should they qualify

Russia were free to play at last summer’s Euros because the event was technically not defined as a ‘major event organisation’

UEFA were not the only backsliders on Tuesday. You also wondered if Manchester United would be immediately severing links which make Aeroflot, the airline 57 per cent owned by the Russian Federation, their official ‘global carrier’. 

That cosy relationship allows Aeroflot to declare on United’s website that the club and airline ‘share values’.

Aeroflot was a laughing stock until the Russians turned to Britain’s biggest global football club for help, paying United £40million a year for a sponsorship deal which often sees the team fly to Champions League away games on the Russian jumbos.

Aeroflot is not only Putin’s airline of choice but the one that assassins and would-be assassins from the Russian security services choose to use.

Anna Politkovskaya, the hugely courageous Russian journalist whose hard-hitting, independent work held a light to the state machine, was poisoned after drinking tea given to her by an Aeroflot flight attendant in September 2004. She was shot dead in Moscow two years later.

Manchester United have Aeroflot, the airline 57 per cent owned by the Russian Federation, as their official ‘global carrier’

The Salisbury assassins, whose Novichok poison killed a local mother of three in October 2014, also flew in and out of the country on Aeroflot. To say the airline’s executives were not much help to British security services at the time is putting it mildly.

United certainly got the optics right on Tuesday when they did not fly to Madrid on an Aeroflot jumbo and commissioned a Titan Airways plane instead. But would they actually sever this link? 

There was no statement back from the club on this, though they did let it be known that they will ‘continue to partner Aeroflot’ and consider the partnership ‘to be with the airline, not the government’.

At Westminster, politicians found the kind of rage you would expect. ‘We won’t allow President Putin to exploit events on the world stage to legitimise his illegal invasion of Ukraine,’ tweeted Nadine Dorries MP, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, demanding that Russia be stripped of the St Petersburg final.But demands like that are tumbleweed unless those running sport dispense with the PR nonsense and find the moral fibre that this moment demands.