More and more European teams are stopping sponsorships with Russian companies
In the last few days and in the last hours more and more teams have decided to eliminate the sponsorship of Gazprom from its own jerseys and contracts the contracts previously stipulated with the Russian company. As recently written, over the past decade Gazprom he had used sport and in particular football to make the so-called sports wash towards its monopoly business on gas and energy, becoming the Main sponsor of numerous clubs around Europe and even going so far as to associate their logo with that of the most important football competition on the continent: the UEFA Champions League.
Now, however, in light of the heinous attack of the Russia towards’Ukraine and of the close ties that unite Moscow with the oil giant, more and more teams have chosen to remove any sign of collaboration with Gazprom. The first was it Schalke 04, a team that over the years had become synonymous with Gazprom having started the collaboration in 2006, removed all symbols from the club’s jerseys and divides and it was just a few minutes ago that the news came to an end that definitively terminated the contract, thus effectively closing an era club. A move made inevitable of Bild, the main German newspaper and tabloid, which on Thursday morning published photos of Schalke 04 players covering the Gazprom logo with the words “Freiheit für die Ukraine“(Freedom for Ukraine). The shirt with the word Schalke 04 in place of the sponsor was put up for sale on the club’s online store and quickly sold out. The decision of the German club generated a domino effect that has involved almost all European teams sponsored by Russian state-owned companies.Austria Viennaanother club sponsored by Gazprom, took the field by removing the logo from their game uniforms, while the Red Star from Belgrade, linked to the Russian company since 2010, has decided to keep it. There Serbia it is one of the few European countries taken to date to have no position against the Russian attack.
In recent days the Chelsea issued a statement in which Roman Abramovich has announced that he will leave the presidency of Chelsea but will remain the owner of the English club for now. Abramovich, close friend of Put in, has long been effectively banned from British territory and his position is followed by English Ministry of the Interior through the Directorate for Security and Counterterrorism. War in Ukraine has only further exacerbated the contradictions surrounding his presidency of the London club, and could be the prelude to a sale. Gazprom was also the sleeve sponsor of the Blues from 2013 to 2016. Similarly the Manchester United has stopped sponsoring with Aeroflot, the Russian national airline, which until now adorned the sleeve of the game kit of the red devils.
According to rumors of The Guardian And The independentthere UEFA, after moving the final of Champions League from the Gazprom Arena Of St.Pietroburgo at the Stadium of France Of Paris, it would be negotiating the termination of the sponsorship agreement with the Russian company. A contract from 2021 to 2024 that would also be valid for Euro2024 and for a total of over 50 million euros per year. The sanctions established by the US and the EU will soon have repercussions on the coffers of the CSKA, the Red Army team.