UEFA emergency meeting on moving Champion League final out of Russia

Washington, Feb. 24 (AP/PTI): UEFA has called an emergency meeting of its top decision-making body to discuss moving the Champion League final out of Russia after Moscow attacked Ukraine on Thursday.

The British government has been leading calls for the showpiece game to no longer be played in St. Petersburg on May 28.

The extraordinary meeting of the UEFA executive committee will be held on Friday in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions, European football’s governing body said in a statement.

The Ukrainian Premier League suspended operations on Thursday due to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to impose martial law. The league has been on a two-month winter break and was due to resume on Friday. It did not give any planned date to restart.

The International Paralympic Committee said it was in talks with sports officials in Ukraine and Russia as their teams prepare to head to China for the start of the Paralympic Games next week.

“The IPC is in dialogue with both the Ukrainian and Russian Paralympic Committees ahead of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games,” the IPC said in an emailed statement. “As a politically neutral organization, the IPC’s focus remains on the upcoming Games rather than the ongoing situation.”

Russia’s name, flag and anthem are already barred from the March 4-13 Paralympics in Beijing over previous doping disputes. Its team is due to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee.