The main match of the last European club season, as you know, was to be held in St. Petersburg. However, at the last moment, UEFA officials took away this right from the Russians and handed over the Champions League final to the French capital.

This decision of the union caused great problems. The organizers in Paris failed to cope with the responsibility that suddenly fell on them, and the football festival turned into a nightmare. Peter, however, hoped that UEFA would give the city a new chance, but the European authorities refused to do so. And now they are forced to pay off the bills with the Russians.

Reimbursement of expenses

The final game of the UEFA Champions League season 2020/21 ended with Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City with a score of 1:0. The match, according to the original plans, was to be held in St. Petersburg, but due to the protracted history of the coronavirus, the schedule has shifted. Gazprom-Arena was promised the next final, and a purely English confrontation took place on Portuguese soil.

However, Russian fans also failed to see the next Champions League final with their own eyes. Instead of St. Petersburg, the main match of the European season was given to Paris. With a delay in time and other attendant problems, the French public saw the victory of Real Madrid over Liverpool with a score of 1:0.

Photo: © Denis Doyle / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The reason for the postponement this time was not a pandemic – UEFA decided to punish Russia for political reasons and took the final from St. Petersburg irrevocably. However, no reason exempted the Union of European Football Associations from compensating the costs of the failed event.

In theory, UEFA was obliged to comply with all agreements, including in matters of compensation. In practice, it was worth expecting the next frills from the football authorities in Europe, since for many of the strange decisions they made over the past few months, there were all sorts of excuses.

Moreover, the Russians should have received a substantial amount: the budget for organizing the final was about 600 million rubles! Of course, the organizers simply did not have time to spend most of this money – but some of it left anyway, not to mention the efforts and working time of the organizers, which also cost a lot.

Fortunately, this time Aleksander Čeferin’s office proved to be a reliable partner, at least in matters of finance. According to Aleksey Sorokin, General Director of the Organizing Committee for the preparation of the Champions League final in St. Petersburg, the money has been received, the expenses of contractors have been compensated, and this issue is now completely closed.