Champions League Final poised for venue change amid possibility of political unrest

UEFA have reportedly made an informal approach to the Portuguese Football Federation over the possibility of switching the host venue for the 2023 Champions League final.

Manchester City will be hoping to reach their second Champions League final under Pep Guardiola, having previously reached the final stage of Europe’s premier club competition in 2021 – where they ultimately succumbed to a defeat at the hands of Chelsea.

The Premier League leaders’ semi-final tie with Real Madrid is currently finely poised at 1-1 heading into next week’s second-leg at the Etihad Stadium. However, given the Blues’ home form, Pep Guardiola and his players are the favourites to reach the final.

In the other semi-final, Inter currently hold a 0-2 lead over city rivals Milan, making them the clear favourites to represent Italy in a showpiece final next month. However, concerns over the location of the event have taken yet another turn this week.

According to a new report from the Mail’s Matt Hughes, UEFA have now held talks about the possibility of moving the 2023 Champions League final to Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz if there is unrest in Istanbul following the presidential Turkish election. 

It is highlighted the European football’s governing body would be ‘extremely reluctant’ to switch the final again, having twice moved the occasion from Istanbul due to Covid in 2020 and 2021.

However, in an attempt to cover all bases, an informal approach has already been made by UEFA to the Portuguese Football Federation, should concerns over supporter safety arise in the days leading up the showpiece final next month.

Manchester City’s one and only Champions League final was switched to Portugal in the 2020/21 season, when an initially-planned Istanbul date was altered to Porto’s Estádio do Dragão due to the Covid pandemic.

City will be hoping to go one step further and finally claim their first-ever Champions League crown this season, while they also continue to compete for a fifth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola and a second FA Cup.

Manchester United are City’s opponents in the final for the latter next month, while the focus before then will be booking a ticket for a Champions League finale as well as seeing off the competition from Arsenal for the English top-flight trophy.