German soccer club Schalke 04 remove Russia's Gazprom as jersey sponsor after invasion of Ukraine

Thu, Feb 24, 2022
Soccer News (AP)

German soccer club FC Schalke 04 is removing the logo of one of their biggest sponsors in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Schalke 04 will be removing the logo of Gazprom, which is a Russian state-owned energy firm that is based in Saint Petersburg, from their jerseys going forward, according to an announcement from the team.

Gazprom has been one of Schalke 04's main sponsors since 2006. In addition, Gazprom also serves as one of the biggest sponsors of the UEFA Champions League.

Schalke 04 will now simply have a logo that will read "Schalke 04" rather than having the Gazprom logo.

"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 team announced Thursday.

The move comes with UEFA set to move the Champions League final from Saint Petersburg. The Champions League final was supposed to take place at Saint Petersburg's Krestovsky Stadium on May 28, but UEFA will now be searching for a new venue.

"Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine in the last 24 hours, the UEFA President has decided to call an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for Friday 25 February at 10:00 CET, in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions," UEFA said in a statement. "Further communication will be made after the meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee."

According to AP Sports' James Benge, London could be a possible host city and West Ham's London Stadium could be the possible venue. Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are currently scheduled to be in use on the date of the Champions League final.

UEFA also issued a statement in which the governing body condemned Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.

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.

Full statement: ??
- UEFA (@UEFA) February 24, 2022

Gazprom has been a Champions League sponsor since 2012 and the two parties currently have a deal that is reportedly worth $45 million per year.