On Friday European soccer’s governing body voted to move the UEFA Champions League final on May 28 from St. Petersburg to Paris.
This will be France’s first time hosting the final since 2006.
UEFA said the decision was made “as a result of the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe.”
UEFA will also relocate any games in tournaments to be played in Russia and Ukraine “until further notice.”
Russia’s Soccer Federation (RFU) was not pleased with the decision.
“We believe that the decision to move the venue of the Champions League final was dictated by political reasons,” said RFU president Alexander Dyukov. “The RFU has always adhered to the principle of ‘sport is out of politics’ and thus cannot support this decision.”
“Furthermore, the RFU also does not support the decision to transfer any matches involving Russian teams to neutral territory as violating the sports principle and infringing on the interests of players, coaches and fans.”
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin traveled to Paris on Thursday to finalize the arrangement.
FIFA is now under pressure from the soccer federations of Poland, Czechia and Sweden to ban Russia from hosting 2022 World Cup playoff games. Russia is currently scheduled to host Poland on March 24. Should Russia win that match, they would host the winner of Sweden versus Czechia for a spot in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year.