Uefa has insisted that this season’s Champions League final will remain in Istanbul despite reports that European football’s governing body was considering moving the game elsewhere over security concerns linked to Turkey’s presidential election.
This year’s showpiece is scheduled to take place at the 74,753-seater Ataturk Stadium on Saturday 10 June and will feature one of Manchester City or Real Madrid against either AC or Inter Milan, with the second leg of the semi-finals yet to be played.
The Turkish capital had been due to host the Champions League final in 2020 and 2021 before it was moved to Lisbon and Porto respectively due to health and organisational issues caused due to Covid-19, and according to the Daily Mail, Uefa had sounded out the Portuguese FA again ahead of this year’s final.
Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz, which is home to Portuguese giants Benfica, was earmarked as a potential alternative.
However, Uefa said in a statement: “The 2023 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.”
Turkey’s presidential elections are due to begin on 14 May and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AK Party, who have been in power for 20 years, face considerable competition from Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party opposition.
Should neither party secure a majority share of the votes, there will be a second round of voting on 28 May which is less than two weeks out from the final.
The spotlight is firmly on Uefa after last year’s final in Paris was overshadowed by chaotic policing and security failures that put the lives of Liverpool and Real Madrid fans at risk. That match had been due to be played in St Petersburg before being moved to the French capital after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Thousands of Liverpool fans were penned in crushing queues leading into the Stade de France for hours before kick-off and many were sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray by French police.
Supporters of both clubs were also robbed after the final whistle after being targeted by local gangs on the concourses outside the stadium.
In February, a 220-page document published by an independent panel appointed by Uefa to analyse what went wrong stated that it was “remarkable that no-one lost their life”.
Liverpool fans were also praised for “protecting vulnerable people and averting what might well have been more serious injuries and deaths”.
How to watch the 2023 Champions League final
Date: Saturday 10 June
Kick-off: 8pm BST
TV channel: BT Sport 1
Live Stream: BT Sport website, app or YouTube channel
Uefa also faced criticism for its handling of the Euro 2020 final at Wembley in 2021, which was marred by drunk and disorderly behaviour around Wembley Way and ticketless fans forcing their way into the stadium for England’s defeat against Italy.
As exclusively revealed by i, Uefa has partnered with the European Space Agency and will trial the use of satellite technology at major matches in an effort to avoid dangerous overcrowding at major events.
A deal has been signed for an initial 20 months and a Uefa source described the first stages as “exploratory” to assess how space technology can improve the game.
Manchester City will be hoping to reach the final for the second time in three years after earning a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the first leg. Kevin De Bruyne scored a superb equaliser after Vinicius Jr had fired the home side in front.
Inter Milan are strong favourites to qualify from the other side of the draw after earning a 2-0 win against AC Milan at San Siro after goals from Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
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