Liz Truss thinks English clubs should boycott the Champions League if they reach the final

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has spoken about the Champions League, saying that she thinks English clubs should boycott the final in the wake of the escalating situation in Ukraine.

Uefa is currently holding talks about moving the final from St Petersburg, following the movement of Russian troops into east Ukraine.

The governing body of football in Europe now sees a contingency plan as essential following the actions of the Putin regime, although there aren’t yet any concrete plans about other venues.

Truss spoke about the competition during an interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC, urging managers to consider boycotting the final if it remains in St Petersburg.

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“If I was on an English team, I would boycott it,” she said.

“I would personally not want to be playing in a football match in St Petersburg, given what the Putin regime is doing.”

When asked if she’d urge managers to consider a boycott were an English team to be successful in the stages to get to the final, she replied: “Yes.”

The comments have already sparked plenty of discussions online, with Gary Neville one of the people responding to the interview on Twitter.

“Maybe concentrate on the illicit funding your party has been receiving from Russians rather than English teams participating in football matches,” he wrote.

Chelsea are the current champions of Europe after winning in 2021. They remain in the competition this year, along with Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.

It comes after Putin recognised two territories as independent and moved troops to the Ukraine border, triggering sanctions from the West amid ongoing tensions.

Truss also received a grilling this morning over the Conservative party receiving donations from people linked to Russia.

On an appearance on Sky News, Truss was asked by host Kay Burley about the party receiving "Russian linked cash" and refused to say the party would return these donations.

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