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Russia Vs Ukraine War: Schalke, German Football Team, Remove Gazprom's Logo From Jerseys

Gazprom has been Schalke’s funding sponsor since 2006. The German football team said the Gazprom logo will be replaced by letters reading ‘Schalke 04’.

Updated on: 25 February 2022 4:26 am

Advertisement of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom displayed on an advertising board in UCL.

The logo of Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom is being removed from the jerseys of German football team Schalke following Russia’s wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday. (More Football News)

Schalke said the logo will be replaced by lettering reading “Schalke 04” instead following what it called “recent developments.”

A senior Gazprom executive had already quit the supervisory board of Schalke earlier Thursday after being a target of U.S. sanctions.

Matthias Warnig is CEO of the newly built but never operated Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline which is a multibillion-dollar project of Gazprom and European companies.

Gelsenkirchen-based Schalke said Warnig informed the board would he step down with immediate effect from his position after two years as a representative of main sponsor Gazprom.

German newspaper Bild this week began covering the Gazprom logos on Schalke jerseys with “Freedom for Ukraine” to protest against Russia’s deepening military intervention in Ukraine.

Gazprom has been providing sponsorship funding to Schalke, which was relegated to the second division last year, since 2006 with a deal announced on the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived for a state visit to Germany.

?Gazprom’s branding has had an even greater profile this week in European football through its sponsorship of the Champions League. Its logos have been flashing around the field during the round of 16 matches and featured on UEFA’s broadcasts.