Russia's 'tragic' invasion of Ukraine condemned by sporting world

Paris — The sporting world roundly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday with UEFA mulling over Saint Petersburg hosting the Champions League final and the IOC claiming the "Olympic Truce" had been broken.

UEFA, the governing body of European football, issued a statement saying it "strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine."

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Thursday, killing dozens as air strikes hit military installations and ground forces moved in from the north, south and east.

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Russia, under President Vladimir Putin, has played host to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi — which will be recalled more for the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal — and the World Cup in 2018.

UEFA are to hold an emergency meeting of their executive committee on Friday morning where the hosting of European club football's premier competition — scheduled to be played at the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg on May 28 — will be up for discussion.

"Decisions will be taken by the UEFA Executive Committee and announced tomorrow (Friday)," UEFA said in the statement.

European football's governing body also has a major sponsorship deal with Gazprom, the Russian state energy giant.

The company has already suffered a setback with German football club Schalke 04 announcing they were removing the company logo from their shirts.

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World governing body FIFA, meanwhile, have been informed by the Polish, Czech and Swedish football federations they will refuse to play their 2022 World Cup play-offs in Russia.

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