German football team Schalke 04 remove Russian state-owned sponsor Gazprom’s name from their shirts after Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine
One of Germany’s biggest football teams, Schalke 04, have removed the name of Russian sponsors Gazprom from their shirts after Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine on Thursday.
Energy company Gazprom are majority-owned by the Russian state and are major sponsors of the Champions League as well as of Schalke.
A club statement read: ‘Following recent developments, FC Schalke 04 have decided to remove the logo of main sponsor GAZPROM from the club’s shirts. It will be replaced by lettering reading ‘Schalke 04′ instead.’
The news comes as Matthias Warnig, CEO of Nord Stream 2, who are facing US sanctions for their links to Russia, resigned from Schalke’s board.
Warnig is a former officer of East Germany’s notious state police, the Stasi, and a known Putin-sympathiser. His links with Russia help set up the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
More to follow…
Schalke are sponsored by Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company
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