German club FC Schalke 04 removed the sponsor Gazprom from its jerseys on Thursday amid the escalating military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Gazprom, a state-owned Russian energy company, has served as Schalke’s sponsor since 2007.
“Following recent developments, FC Schalke 04 have decided to remove the logo of main sponsor GAZPROM from the club’s shirts.” Schalke said in a statement. “It will be replaced by lettering reading ‘Schalke 04’ instead.”
Gazprom's ties to global football go deeper than just Schalke. It has been a major UEFA sponsor since 2012, and its chief executive is a member of UEFA's executive committee and the head of the Russian Football Union. The name of the stadium in St. Petersburg where the 2022 Champions League final was supposed to be played is Gazprom Arena. That may not be the case for long, though.
UEFA joined Schalke in its condemnation of Russian military actions on Thursday as it announced that a decision will be made Friday regarding whether this season’s Champions League final will be played in St. Petersburg. It is widely reported that UEFA will move the title match, though a replacement location has not been determined as of Thursday.
"UEFA shares the international community’s significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine," UEFA wrote in a statement. "As the governing body of European football, UEFA is working tirelessly to develop and promote football according to common European values such as peace and respect for human rights, in the spirit of the Olympic Charter. We remain resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine and stand ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people. We are dealing with this situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency. Decisions will be taken by the UEFA Executive Committee and announced tomorrow."
