The Champions League road to where? Plus: Kai Havertz shows Romelu Lukaku the Chelsea way – The Warm-Up

WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORIES The road to… where? Ad/> Stick to football! That’s the classic cry, isn’t it? Sport is so often keen to shirk talk of politics, as are some sports fans, but how can you when the nation pencilled in to host the Champions League final is seemingly on the verge of invading another country? Champions LeagueTuchel: The real Kante 'stepped up' in win over Lille10 HOURS AGO Far down this escalating crisis involving Russia and Ukraine is football. There are far greater concerns as tensions grow between Russia and the West, but still, remarkably but unsurprisingly, the sport has this transcendent quality that makes it an easy headline-maker and an avenue into discussing politics.

And so, that is why yesterday’s updates were littered with reports about the possibility of UEFA moving the final from St Petersburg, more specifically the Krestovsky Stadium – aka the Gazprom Arena. Yes, the very Russian state-owned energy company which has sponsored the Champions League for the last 10 years.

Gazprom’s adverts with those amiable jingles during Champions League matches have made them a now globally recognisable brand. They “light up football” apparently, they plastered advertising hoardings in Champions League matches night, and now UEFA must decide whether to switch them off – temporarily at least.

“You’d have to show cause to tear up this sponsorship contract,” sports marketing expert Tim Crow told FT. “That would be a big call.” /> UEFA are considering a change for the final and some British talking heads have not hesitated in making their feelings clear.