Gazprom is a strong sponsor
UEFA has also entered into the Ukraine conflict
21/2/2022 9:29 PM
The World Cup play-off between Russia and Poland will be played in Moscow in March. Two Russian teams are still playing in the European League. What is the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on football? None at the moment, says UEFA, which also depends on Gazprom.
UEFA does not “currently” intend to postpone or cancel matches due to the Russian crisis surrounding the impending invasion of Ukraine. On March 24, Russia will meet Poland in Qatar in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Moscow and Ukraine will visit Scotland. If Russia beats Poland, the winning Sweden will meet at home against the Czech Republic on March 29.
“All matches must now take place as planned,” UEFA said in response to a question from ntv.de. This also refers to the upcoming matches in the European League for representatives of Zenit St Petersburg of Russia, who will play on Thursday in the round of 32 at Betis Sevilla and Spartak Moscow, already scheduled for matches starting from March 10, qualifying from the round of 16. “UEFA is closely monitoring the situation closely,” she said. Ongoing. He is in close contact with the relevant federations and clubs.”
Main financier Gazprom
The day before, UEFA had already confirmed that it was “currently” also planning to host the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final in St Petersburg. The biggest club football match in the world is currently scheduled to take place on May 28, 2022 at Gazprom Arena in Putin’s hometown.
Saint Petersburg is not only Putin’s birthplace, but also the headquarters of the state-owned Gazprom. As a sponsor, the Russian gas giant is an integral part of the European football arena. It has been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League since 2012. Last year, the partnership was extended to the postponed Euro 2020 in the summer of 2021, the European Nations League, as well as the 2024 European Championship in Germany. Nothing is known about the exact amount of care.
Alexander Dyukov, CEO of the oil company Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of Gazprom, has been a member of the UEFA Executive Committee since 2021. “Basically, Dyukov is the representative of the Russian government,” sports economist Simon Chadwick told Deutschlandfunk. The traditional German club FC Schalke 04 also plays with Gazprom as the shirt sponsor since 2007. With Matthias Warnig, head of business performance at Nord Stream 2 AG, a close associate of Putin sits on the supervisory board of the current second-tier club.
Western officials have warned for weeks of a Russian attack on Ukraine. According to Western information, Russia has deployed about 150,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. In the evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia wants to recognize the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. In this case, the EU threatened Putin with sanctions. Thus, the Minsk peace agreement failed. The situation in Eastern Europe remains very tense.
