Why are Shakhtar Donetsk playing their Champions League games at Stamford Bridge? They have been forced into footballing exile by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

You may have noticed that matches in the 2026/27 Champions League are also being played at Stamford Bridge, even though Chelsea did not qualify for the competition. This is because Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk has been granted permission by UEFA to play their matches in London.

Shakhtar Donetsk has been unable to play their home matches in Donetsk since the Russian-led invasion of the Donbass region in 2014, which resulted in the Donbass Arena, their home ground, being bombed. Initially, the team moved to Lviv (where they still play league games), Kharkiv and Kyiv, but following Russia's escalation of military aggression against Ukraine in 2022, the team has been forced to leave the country in order to participate in European competitions. They first played in Warsaw, then in Hamburg, Gelsenkirchen and Krakow.

This past summer, they reached an agreement with Chelsea to host their home Champions League fixtures against AEK Athens, Sporting, Fenerbahçe and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. According to the BBC, the agreement is non-commercial, meaning that Shakhtar will likely not pay rent and may receive all income from ticket sales. "We are representing our country and want to be visible for Ukraine, We need support from the democratic world. We cannot fight alone. Part of our role when we play in London and other cities in Europe is to send these messages and remind people what's going on", said Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin after the official announcement.

The decision to play in London, and especially at Stamford Bridge, has great significance. This is because the club's former owner, the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, was considered to be one of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's closest allies. Abramovich was essentially forced to sell the club when Russia invaded Ukraine, and as part of the deal he promised to donate some of the proceeds. As of today, Abramovich still has to donate the proceeds, which have risen from £2.3 billion to almost £2.5 billion while they remain frozen in UK bank accounts pending an investigation.

As Palkin recounted, it was Chelsea who approached Shakhtar Donetsk. The idea of playing at Stamford Bridge was suggested by Behdad Eghbali, the businessman holding the majority stake in BlueCo, the consortium that owns Chelsea and French club RC Strasbourg following Todd Boehly's departure as chairman in September 2026. It was a small but significant gesture, offering Shakhtar Donetsk a sense of closure while they wait to play a match on their home ground for the first time in over 4,000 days.