Russia continues to be hit with sanctions and condemnation from the world of sport, with Uefa the latest organisation to cut ties with a major sponsor from the nation.
Quickly following on the heels of Fifa and Uefa jointly announcing that Russia and all Russian teams would be banned from international football competitions under their banners, the European governing body have also confirmed the end of their long-running sponsorship deal with Gazprom.
The Russian majority state-owned energy company has been one of the main sponsors of the Champions League for the past decade and the deal with Uefa was reportedly in excess of €40m a year. Gazprom was also set to be a sponsor for the next European Championship in 2024, but will now be dropped from all competitions.
Uefa have confirmed the end of their deal with the publicly listed corporation, which takes effect immediately.
A short statement read:
“Uefa has today decided to end its partnership with Gazprom across all competitions. The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the Uefa Champions League, Uefa national team competitions and Uefa Euro 2024.”
Football’s top-tier organisations have made the move after coming under increasing pressure for their slow reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while other sports bodies have made similar moves.
The International Olympic Committee earlier on Monday recommended the total ban of all Russian and Belorusian athletes and officials from all international sporting events, including those already planned.
Elsewhere, Formula One removed the Russian Grand Prix from the 2022 season calendar, while the EuroLeague Basketball executive board also suspended all Russian Federation teams from competition.
Uefa had already made the decision to take the 2022 Champions League final away from St. Petersburg, with the showpiece occasion now set to be hosted in Paris.
Gazprom were also the primary shirt sponsor of German Bundesliga side Schalke 04, before they opted to cancel the deal last week.
