Uefa has insisted it will not move this year’s Champions League final from Istanbul, despite fears that the presidential election in Turkey could lead the city to become unsafe.
Reports on Friday suggested the governing body had informally approached authorities in Lisbon about the possibility of hosting the match in the event of political unrest, but Uefa has taken the unusual step of denying the claims.
“Following some inaccurate and unfounded media reports, Uefa would like to clarify the position on the 2023 Champions League final,” a statement said. “The 2023 Uefa Champions League final will take place in Istanbul as scheduled, on 10 June 2023. Uefa has no discussions to the contrary with any political institutions, governments or national football associations.”
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The Champions League final will be contested by the winners of Real Madrid v Manchester City and Internazionale v Milan. It will be played two weeks after a potential second round of voting in the Turkish presidential election, which could bring an end to the administration of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Erdoğan and his AKP party have undermined democratic norms in the country over his nine-year rule, leading to fears over the possibilities for free and fair elections. A coalition of six opposition parties, led by the secularist Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, could defeat him at the ballot box this month. Kılıçdaroğlu this month warned supporters not to celebrate in the street should Erdoğan lose out in this weekend’s first round of voting, for fear of reprisals.
Uefa finds itself in a challenging position, with the guarantee of public safety paramount after the near-tragic events that soured last year’s final in Paris. The governing body has, however, already relocated the Champions League final from Istanbul twice in recent years because of the Covid-19 pandemic, on both occasions moving the match to Portugal.
With an unsuccessful Turkish bid to host the men’s European Championship in 2024, and Turkey up against the UK and Ireland for the 2028 tournament, there is concern within Uefa that Turkey may feel insulted if the showcase fixture is moved again.
