Russia loses Champions League final to Paris, Sochi F1 race dropped_flat freckle removal
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Move came as Russian bombs, troops pounded Ukraine during invasion's 1st full day
Rob Harris · The Associated Press(John MacDougall/Getty Images)Russia was stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA on Friday with St. Petersburg replaced by Paris, and Formula One dropped this season's Russian Grand Prix at Sochi, as the invasion of Ukraine drew punitive measures across the sporting world.
English Premier League team Manchester United also dropped Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot as a sponsor citing "events in Ukraine" after the company was banned in Britain on Thursday as part of sanctions.
Although UEFA still has Gazprom as a Champions League sponsor, the final will no longer be staged at the St. Petersburg stadium named after the Russian state-owned energy firm. The climax to the European men's football season will still be held on May 28 but now at the 80,000-seat Stade de France in the Saint-Denis suburb of the French capital after the decision by UEFA's executive committee.
It followed discussions led by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin that involved the European Commission and French President Emmanuel Macron in recent days after concerns were raised about the status of Russia retaining such a prestigious event after its aggression toward another European country.
UEFA thanked Macron for his "personal support and commitment to have European club football's most prestigious game moved to France at a time of unparalleled crisis."
WATCH: Breaking down sports reaction to invasion:

UEFA, Schalke 04 & soccer federations respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
24 hours agoDuration 6:14Global sport professor Simon Chadwick joins CBC Sports’ Jacqueline Doorey to break down the response from the sporting world to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, specifically the affiliations of governing bodies with state-owned companies like Gazprom.Invasion of Ukraine puts Chinese relationship with Russia under pressure(editor:)
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