The Prime Minister applied pressure on European football governing body UEFA not to hold its Champions League final in St Petersburg in May, saying there should be “no chance of holding football tournaments in a Russia that invades sovereign countries”.
Echoing Mr Johnson’s call, German MEP Viola von Cramon is trying to gather signatures to a letter addressed to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
In the letter, she wrote:”[…] in view of the very worrying global political situation and the associated threat of war, which was triggered by military provocations by Russia and once again fuelled by President Putin’s decision yesterday to recognise Ukraine’s breakaway regions, we call on you personally and UEFA to take appropriate and consistent action.”
The German politician is calling on the UEFA Champions League president to “stop considering St. Petersburg and other Russian cities as venues for international football competitions” for the May 28 final.
She is also calling for UEFA to terminate its contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom as their sponsor.
It comes as Britain is sanctioning three billionaire allies of Vladimir Putin and five Russian banks, Boris Johnson has announced under a “first barrage” of punitive measures in response to the “renewed invasion” of Ukraine.
The Prime Minister warned on Tuesday that the Kremlin appeared to be “establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive” by sending troops in the Donbas region under the guise of being “peacekeepers”.
Officials said a “much longer list” of oligarchs is being considered for further sanctions after Conservative MPs joined Labour in calling for Mr Johnson to impose stronger measures immediately.
Sanctions are also set to be imposed against Russian politicians who voted to recognise the “independence” of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine in what was condemned by Western leaders as a major provocation.
Mr Johnson told the Commons that immediate sanctions are being deployed against three “very high net wealth individuals”, Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg, who he described as “cronies” of the Russian president.
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The sanctions, which include UK asset freezes, a travel ban and prohibition on British individuals and businesses dealing with them, were also tabled against Russian banks Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank.
“This the first tranche, the first barrage, of what we are prepared to do, and we hold further sanctions at readiness to be deployed,” Mr Johnson told MPs, before warning it is “inevitable” he will return with a “much bigger package”.
With Russia also amassing nearly 200,000 troops on Ukraine’s border, Mr Johnson said: “The House should be in no doubt that the deployment of these forces in sovereign Ukrainian territory amounts to a renewed invasion of that country.
“And by denying Ukraine’s legitimacy as a state, and presenting its very existence as a mortal threat to Russia, Putin is establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive.”
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But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said “a threshold has already been breached” as he called for firmer action now.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith suggested Russia should be hit “hard and hit them now” to increase the pain of the current incursion.
Commons Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood said “sanctions alone will not be enough” and warned that “untargeted sanctions may play into Putin’s plan to pivot Russia ever-closer to China”.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told reporters the current measures are “harsh” but insisted “there are still more sanctions in the tank”.
In a statement, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss added that the Government is “prepared to go much further if Russia does not pull back from the brink”.
