UEFA have Champions League final back-up plan as Turkey prepare to go to the polls

UEFA have held talks about moving the Champions League final to Lisbon’s Stadium of Light if there is unrest in Istanbul following the presidential Turkish election, the Daily Mail reports.

Manchester City and Inter Milan are favorites to reach the final, which is due to be staged at the Ataturk Stadium on 10 June, but there are concerns about the prospect of civil disturbances if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade reign is ended by this month’s polls.

The biggest event in European football has twice been moved from Istanbul due to Covid in 2020 and 2021. 

According to the source, an informal approach has been made to the Portuguese Football Federation, who have previously stepped in with Lisbon and Porto staging the final in 2020 and 2021.

Erdogan trailed his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu by five per cent in a tight poll ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday, which analysts suggested indicated that the three-horse race could go to a run-off between the pair which would be held on 28 May. 

The Champions League final is scheduled for Saturday, June 10.