UEFA will deprive St. Petersburg of the Champions League final.

“On this tragic day, our thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine, our friends, colleagues, members and their loved ones,” the Fans Supporters Europe group tweeted hours after the Russian invasion began. “Given the events unfolding, we expect an imminent announcement from UEFA on the relocation of the Champions League final.”

The football associations of Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden have written to FIFA demanding that Russia be banned from hosting Qatar World Cup qualifiers. Poland are due to meet Russia in Moscow next month, and if Russia wins, they will face a final qualifier against the winner of the game between the Czechs and Sweden also in Russia.

Gazprom’s influence extends beyond UEFA. Officials of the company – which controls Russia’s top club FC Zenit – sit in other influential positions, such as the board of directors of the European Club Association, a representative body of top clubs. Gazprom has also sponsored one of Germany’s leading teams, Schalke, since 2007, an association that now seems to be over.

“Following recent developments, FC Schalke 04 has decided to remove the logo of main sponsor GAZPROM from the club’s shirts. It will be replaced by the lettering ‘Schalke 04’ instead,” the club said on Twitter Thursday.

UEFA also had to make a tough decision on what to do with the last remaining Russian club in their competitions. In the end, however, Zenit did not qualify for the next round of the Europa League, Europe’s second-tier club tournament, after failing to defeat Real Betis in the second leg of a qualifier on Thursday night. two sleeves. Zenit thought they had forced extra time but a last-minute goal was controversial canceled due to video review.

The crisis has also led to growing speculation over the future of Abramovich’s decade-long ownership of Chelsea. He was not named in a first tranche of Russian billionaires under British government sanctions this week. But some lawmakers have said he and Alisher Usmanov, a billionaire whose holding company USM is the biggest partner of fellow Premier League side Everton, should be added to the sanctions list.