The German publication Bild has announced that it will censor all print and website images of Schalke 04 players.
The management of the publication noted that from now on, instead of the logo of the Russian company, the slogan "Freedom to Ukraine!" will be placed on the T-shirts of the club sponsored by Gazprom.
“We have to watch Gazprom ads on TV with the Champions League anthem while Putin’s troops invade Ukraine. We see Schalke in Gazprom T-shirts, as if this company has been a normal advertising partner since 2007, and not a financier of the Russian state power. And that means wars, ”the editorial office said in a statement.
RBC sent a request to the Schalke 04 football club, as well as to the editors of Bild.
The European Parliament called on UEFA to terminate contracts with Gazprom Football Gazprom has been a sponsor of Schalke since 2007. The contract with the club is valid until 2025. The Russian state-owned company pays the team playing in the second Bundesliga € 9 million a year. If Schalke manages to return to the German top flight, the club will receive €15 million a year and another €3 million as a bonus.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DNR and LNR). The next day, treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were concluded with them. Putin explained this step by Kiev's refusal to implement the Minsk agreements. According to the president, the republics are recognized within the boundaries specified in their constitution, that is, within the framework of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
On February 22, the Federation Council unanimously granted Putin's request to allow the use of the Russian Armed Forces in the republics. Against this background, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin would suspend the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (the operator is Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Gazprom).
In 2016, Bild management already made an extraordinary decision, which was connected with Russia. During the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the publication, in solidarity with the accusations against Russian athletes of doping, decided not to include Russia in the medal standings of the Games. “We will cancel the results of the Russians and will not talk about them. Western athletes also sometimes use doping, but when the government, together with the special services, creates a nationwide doping system, then a weighty answer must be given, ”the Bild editorial said at the time.
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