Champions League final staying in Gelsenkirchen - UEFA

This season's Champions League final will be played in Gelsenkirchen, Germany even if one or two English teams contest the match in an area with a high Turkish population.

European soccer's governing body UEFA confirmed on Thursday that it was not seeking to change the venue for the match on May 26.

What it will do is review arrangements for the final in the wake of trouble at the Champions League Group G game between Besiktas and Chelsea played there on Tuesday.

That match was staged at neutral Gelsenkirchen on UEFA's orders following the spate of recent bombings in Turkey which left 61 people dead.

UEFA chose Gelsenkirchen, in the middle of a region where an estimated 1.5 million Turkish people live, as Besiktas were the home side for the game.

Turkish fans in the crowd hurled missiles and tons of paper on to the pitch in protest at UEFA's decision to move the match from Istanbul and the ruling body has now launched an investigation. The start of the second half was delayed by some six minutes as a result of the protest.

Less than 400 Chelsea fans travelled for the match but security for May's final will be reviewed because if two English clubs reached the final, more than 50,000 fans would probably travel to the area.

Former European champions Manchester United and fellow premier league sides Arsenal and Chelsea have qualified for the next stage of the competition by winning their groups. All three teams are among the favourites to reach the final.

There is a history of violence between supporters of English and Turkish clubs and the recent Turkey-England Euro 2004 qualifier in Istanbul was one of the most heavily guarded matches ever played under UEFA's control.

However, UEFA spokesman Mike Lee, speaking after a two-day executive meeting, said: "The idea of moving the final was not discussed and we are not looking to do so.

"However, there will be an inquiry into the events at the Besiktas-Chelsea match and if necessary we will review arrangements for the final after that. But we stress there are no plans to move the game to another venue."

Lee said Besitkas faced charges for failing to control their fans, adding that there would be a wide-ranging inquiry into the incidents and a hearing next year.

UEFA's retiring chief executive Gerhard Aigner said he was "not surprised" when he saw that the team's benches at the stadium were uncovered and that Chelsea were forced to use large umbrellas to protect their players and officials.

He said the investigation would deal with the problem and tackle the issue of Gelsenkirchen as a venue for the final.

There have been two occasions recently when the Champions League final was contested by teams from the same country. In 2000 Real Madrid and Valencia of Spain met in Paris and this year AC Milan played Italian rivals Juventus at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.

There was no crowd trouble or major policing issue at either game.