Schalke removes Russian sponser Gazprom from their jerseys

One of Germany’s largest football teams, Schalke 04, dropped the name of Russian sponsor Gazprom off its shirts after Vladimir Putin waged war on Ukraine on Thursday.

With political tensions in Eastern Europe rising, Russian military forces have attacked Ukraine on President Vladimir Putin’s directives. Schalke announced that they have parted ways with their Russian sponsor Gazprom.

Gazprom is a Russian owned global energy corporation that specializes in geological exploration, production, and sales of gas, gas condensate, and oil, as well as heat and electric power generation and marketing.

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The official statement on FC Schalke 04 on their site states, “Given the events, development and escalation of the past few days, FC Schalke 04 have decided to remove the lettering of its main sponsor – ‘Gazprom’ – from the jerseys. This step follows discussions with Gazprom Germania. Instead, ‘Schalke 04’ will be on the chest of the Royal Blues.”

They also mentioned the departure of Matthias Warning 66 years old Matthias Warning served as a board member representing the main sponsor Gazprom.

The club statement read “Matthias Warning informed FC Schalke 04’s supervisory board on Thursday that he is to step down from his position with immediate effect.”

On the other end, UEFA who is also under fire because of their ties to the Russian energy giant Gazprom is yet to decide on whether the 2022 Champions League final will be held in Saint Petersburg on May 28. The meeting is underway and the decision will be announced tomorrow for the location of the final.