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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Russian broadcaster apologises after showing pro-Ukraine messages during Manchester derby

A Russian broadcaster was forced to apologise after pro-Ukrainian messages were visible during their coverage of Sunday's Manchester derby.

State-controlled media in Russia is aiming to quash such messages to build support for president Vladimir Putin's invasion of the sovereign state.

Most countries have condemned Putin's actions, which has already led to thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis in eastern Europe.

Putin has told Russians the invasion is a "special military operation" to "denazify" Ukraine, a claim most of the world refutes.

The Premier League is one of many organisations to support Ukraine's defence against Russian aggression, using their significant influence to undermine Putin's crusade.

Tributes included a minute's applause for the victims ahead of each game, as well as blue and yellow captain armbands - Ukraine's national colours.

Pro-Ukrainian messages were seen on Russian TV during this weekend's Premier League games (Twitter)

Dozens of fans also brought Ukrainian flags to grounds, which would've been visible to Premier League supporters watching in Russia.

Okko Sport was responsible for broadcasting the Manchester derby in Russia on Sunday and managed to block out several pro-Ukrainian messages.

But they failed to censor the words "Football Stands Together" (against Russia's invasion) underneath the scoreboard, which was placed over the match timer by the supplier.

"Okko Sport, didn't you find another place to stick your banner?" asked one Russian fan on Twitter. "What is the match time for?"

The broadcaster's account replied: "We receive such a signal from the supplier. Let's think about how this can be fixed."

Another fan tweeted: "Okko Sport, your match time is not displayed on the derby broadcast. Fix it please."

To which Okko Sport replied: "In this format, the provider transmits the broadcast to us. We wrote down the wish that the time was displayed again."

The Russian broadcaster is likely to cover the Premier League's "Football Stands Together" banner for future broadcasts.

As reported by The Athletic, Okko Sport pays around $8.2million - around £6.23m - each year for its rights and also broadcasts La Liga and Serie A action.

It blocked the words "Stop Invasion" during last Monday's game between Granada and Cadiz.

Okko Sport is owned by Sberbank, a state-owned bank that has been added to Britain's list of sanctioned Russian assets. Their Premier League coverage continues, however.

Russian fans are also able to see the "Football Stands Together" and the colours of the Ukrainian flag on the Premier League's website.

Manchester City fans showed their support for Ukraine during Sunday's derby (PA Wire)

"The Premier League and our clubs wholeheartedly reject Russia's actions and will be showing support for the people of Ukraine at all matches this weekend," read a statement.

"We call for peace and our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted.

"A show of solidarity for Ukraine will be visible at all Premier League matches from Saturday 5 to Monday 7 March.

"This follows the numerous ways in which clubs have already demonstrated their support."

The statement went on to say: "This message of solidarity will also be visible to fans around the world across Premier League digital channels.

"Logos and profiles on those platforms will change to represent the colours of the Ukrainian flag, which will also be displayed across match broadcasts both in the UK and overseas."

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