…West Ham’s Stadium Joins Wembley, Tottenham as Contenders to Host UCL Final

The London Stadium has emerged as another potential venue for the Champions League final, should UEFA move it away from Russia.

Both Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are possible alternatives for the May 28 clash, which seems set to be moved from St Petersburg after Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine.

UK’s Sportsmail learnt yesterday that West Ham’s owners would be open to staging the event.

UEFA are also coming under further pressure to drop their £33m-a-season deal with majority state-owned Russian energy provider Gazprom, who also sponsor UEFA’s Nations League and Euro 2024 finals.

It is understood that Manchester United have no plans to ditch their commercial agreement with majority state-owned Russian airline Aeroflot, who have served as the club’s ‘official carrier’ since 2013.

UEFA said on Tuesday they were ‘constantly and closely monitoring’ the situation regarding Russia and Ukraine, amid fears over an invasion.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared it ‘inconceivable’ that the Champions League final be staged in St Petersburg.

Wembley would not be without issues as the match is scheduled for the same weekend as the Championship and League Two play-off finals.

The London Stadium and Spurs’ ground have no such issues. UEFA would prefer to wait until the semi-finals before deciding on a venue suitable for likely finalists.

Last year, planning permission was granted to up the capacity at West Ham’s home to 62,500 for football matches.

Other major European cities would also be in the mix, depending on logistics.

Four English teams remain in the competition at the last-16 stage.