Open Letter - MEPs call for relocation of the Champions League Final 2022

On 23. February 2022, along with my co-signing MEP colleagues, I sent this letter to the UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, calling on him to strip St. Petersburg, and thus Russia, of the right to host the 2022 Champions League final.

 

UEFA
Aleksander Čeferin
President
Route de Genève 46
CH-1260 Nyon 2

Brussels, 23 February 2022

Subject: St. Petersburg as venue of the UEFA Champions League

 

Dear Mr. Čeferin,

In view of the very worrying global political situation and the associated threat of war, which was triggered by military provocations by Russia and once again fuelled by President Putin’s decision to recognise Ukraine’s breakaway regions, we, the signatories of this letter, call on you personally and UEFA to take appropriate and consistent action.

We call on you to stop considering St. Petersburg and other Russian cities as venues for international football competitions and to choose as a first and a very urgent step an alternative venue for the Champions League final on 28 May 2022.

In addition, we appeal to you to convene a special meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee, to terminate cooperation with Gazprom as UEFA sponsor and to consider sanctions against individual Russian officials who are complicit in the violations of international law.

Against the background of the most recent developments, times of “continuously and closely monitoring the situation” are clearly over. UEFA must act now and cannot continue to provide a stage and thus legitimacy to this regime.

We thank you for your consideration of this letter and look forward to a timely response from you.

Yours sincerely,

 

Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Greens/EFA, Germany
Tomasz Frankowski, EPP, Poland
Łukasz Kohut, S&D, Poland
Rasa Juknevičienė, EPP, Lithuania
Miriam Lexmann, EPP, Slovakia
Tonino Picula, S&D, Croatia
Karin Karlsbro, Renew Europe, Sweden
Ignazio Corrao, Greens/EFA, Italy
Olivier Chastel, Renew Europe, Belgium
Rasmus Andresen, Greens/EFA, Germany Kosma Złotowski, ECR, Poland
Eugen Tomac, EPP, Romania
Ibán García del Blanco, S&D, Spain
Hannes Heide, S&D, Austria
Anna Fotyga, ECR, Poland
Pina Picierno, S&D, Italy
Dace Melbārde, ECR, Latvia
Tiziana Beghin, NA, Italy
Ioannis Lagos, NA, Greece
Svenja Hahn, Renew Europe, Germany
Eleonora Evi, Greens/EFA, Italy
Thijs Reuten, S&D, Netherlands
Hildegard Bentele, EPP, Germany
Martin Hojsík, Renew Europe, Slovakia
Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, Renew Europe, Slovakia
Michal Šimečka, Renew Europe, Slovakia
Michal Wiezik, Renew Europe, Slovakia
Juozas Olekas, S&D, Lithuania
Chiara Gemma, NA, Italy
Tineke Strik, Greens/EFA, Netherlands
Francisco Guerreiro, Greens/EFA, Portugal
Andreas Schieder, S&D, Austria,
Katrin Langensiepen, Greens/EFA, Germany
Hannah Neumann, Greens/EFA, Germany
Petra Kammerevert, S&D, Germany
Javier Nart, Renew Europe, Spain
Anna Cavazzini, Greens/EFA, Germany
Ville Niinistö, Greens/EFA, Finland
Tanja Fajon, S&D, Slovenia
Romana Tomc, EPP, Slovenia
Christophe Hansen, EPP, Luxembourg
Andrzej Halicki, EPP, Poland
Ernest Urtasun, Greens/EFA, Spain
Billy Kelleher, Renew Europe, Ireland
Yannick Jadot, Greens/EFA, France
Franc Bogovič, EPP, Slovenia
Bernard Guetta, Renew Europe, France
Witold Jan Waszczykowski, ECR, Poland
Assita Kanko, ECR, Belgium
Saskia Bricmont, Greens/EFA, Belgium
Danuta Maria Hübner, EPP, Poland
Salima Yenbou, Greens/EFA, France
Dino Giarrusso, NA, Italy
Dragoș Pîslaru, Renew Europe, Romania
Katalin Cseh, Renew Europe, Hungary
Benoît Lutgen, EPP, Belgium
Zbigniew Kuźmiuk, ECR, Poland
Reinhard Bütikofer, Greens/EFA, Germany
Pascal Arimont, EPP, Belgium
Michael Gahler, EPP, Germany
Clara Ponsatí Obiols, NA, Spain
Gabriele Bischoff, S&D, Germany
Bart Groothouis, Renew Europe, Netherlands
Tomasz Poręba, ECR, Poland
Rzsyard Czarnecki, ECR, Poland
Marc Tarabella, S&D, Belgium
Alviina Alametsä, Greens/EFA, Finland