Russia began to feel the ripples of its invasion of Ukraine beyond the political sphere as major decisions from the world of sports, including the shifting of this year’s Champions League final from St Petersburg and Formula One pulling out the Russian Grand Prix from its calendar, were taken on Friday.

Uefa, European soccer’s governing body, voted at an emergency executive committee meeting on Friday morning to move this season’s Champions League final, scheduled on May 28, from the St Petersburg stadium to Stade de France in Paris. It will be the first time France has hosted the final since 2006.

The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, travelled to the French capital on Thursday to meet France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, to finalise the agreement. The stadium in St Petersburg was built for the 2018 World Cup and has been financed by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, a major sponsor of Uefa.

Uefa said it made the decision as a result of “the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe” and that it would relocate any games in tournaments it controls that were to be played in Russia and Ukraine, whether involving clubs or national teams, “until further notice”.

Russia’s soccer federation, known as the R.F.U., reacted angrily to the decision, calling it a move “dictated by political reasons”.

But Thomas Tuchel, the German manager of last season’s Champions League winners Chelsea, who are owned by Russian Roman Abramovich, said he agreed with the decision. “Yes, a clear yes. We understand the decision,” he told a news conference.

Premier League players, staff and supporters will be allowed to show their solidarity with Ukraine by displaying the country’s flag at matches this weekend. The FA, which usually prohibits political messages or protests, will not consider it a breach of its rules in this case.

Sochi loss

The Formula One, on the other hand, issued a statement on Friday afternoon, saying it would not be racing in Russia later this year. Turkey is in line to replace the Russian race, which was scheduled on September 25.

“The FIA Formula 1 World Championship visits countries all over the world with a positive vision to unite people, bringing nations together… On Thursday evening Formula 1, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances,” the statement read.

This year’s Russian Grand Prix was supposed to be the last to take place at Sochi ahead of a move to St Petersburg in 2023.

Sponsors ‘pay’

Russian companies too felt the heat as English giants Manchester United terminated their sponsorship deal with the transcontinental country’s national airline Aeroflot and German club FC Schalke 04 removed the logo of Gazprom, one of their biggest sponsors, from their jerseys.

United’s deal with Aeroflot, which has been the club’s official carrier since 2013, was due to run until 2023.

In a statement, United said: “In light of events in Ukraine, we have withdrawn Aeroflot’s sponsorship rights. We share the concerns of our fans around the world and extend our sympathies to those affected.”

Gazprom has been one of Schalke 04’s main sponsors since 2006. Also, Haas, the American-owned F1 team, dropped the sponsorship of Russian company Uralkali on its car on the final day of pre-season testing in Barcelona. Haas’ driving line-up includes Nikita Mazepin, the only Russian driver on the Formula One grid this season, but his future is uncertain, said team boss Guenther Steiner.

The 22-year-old was signed to a race seat last year as part of a title sponsorship deal the US-owned team struck with Russian potash producer Uralkali, owned by his billionaire father Dmitry Mazepin.

Voice of Smolov

Among sports personalities who have protested Vladimir Putin’s aggression, Fedor Smolov stood out as the Russia and Dynamo Moscow striker has expressed his opposition to his own country’s invasion of Ukraine by writing “No war” on Instagram.

Smolov, who has earned 45 caps for Russia in his career, posted a black square and wrote the caption “No war” along with a broken-heart emoji and the Ukraine flag.

On Thursday, during the Europa League match between Italian club Atalanta and Greece’s Olympiacos, Ruslan Malinovskyi, an Ukrainian player with the former, revealed a ‘No war in Ukraine’ message on a T-shirt under his jersey after scoring. Malinovskyi scored twice as Atalanta beat Olympiacos 3-0 in the second leg of their round of 32 tie in Greece.

(Written with inputs from New York Times News Service & agencies)