British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that…Russia should not be able to host football events, such as the Champions League final, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. The British leader He will discuss the location of the final match of this tournament, scheduled for May in Saint Petersburg, with the relevant governing bodies.

“I think it is inconceivable that the major international football tournaments will be held in Russia after the invasion of a sovereign country,” the British parliament speaker said. Nadine Doris, the Minister of Sports of Great Britain, also confirmed that her country would raise the issue with the football authorities. “I have serious concerns about sporting events taking place in Russia, such as the UEFA Champions League Final, and will discuss this with the relevant governing bodies,” Doris said in a tweet. “We will not allow President Putin to use events on the world stage to legitimize his illegal invasion of Ukraine,” he added.

In line with the European Union and the United States, Britain on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Gennady Timchenko and two other billionaires with close ties to Vladimir Putin. Boris Johnson’s government also announced sanctions against Russian banks Rossiya, IS Bank, GenBank, Promsvyazbank and Black Sea Bank.

“This is the first stage, the first volley of what we are ready to do. Any assets they have in the UK will be frozen and the people involved will be banned from traveling here.”

The British prime minister emphasized that Russia would be a “pariah state” and that the world should now prepare for the next phase of Putin’s plan, noting that the Kremlin was paving the way for a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, Johnson refrained from imposing restrictions on Russia’s largest state-owned banks, cutting capital from Russian companies or expelling so-called prominent Russian oligarchs from Britain.

Some British lawmakers have called on Johnson to be tougher on Russian money, even calling for Russian oligarchs to be expelled from Britain and Russian money to be withdrawn from the City of London. Britain also threatened to cut off Russian companies’ access to dollars and sterling, prevent them from raising capital in London, and expose what Johnson calls the “Russian doll” of corporate ownership and ownership.