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BILD boycott Gazprom logo on Schalke shirts as Russia-Ukraine relations worsen

BILD boycott Gazprom logo on Schalke shirts as Russia-Ukraine relations worsen

Update – 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 Russia-Ukraine crisis has had its impact on even the footballing world with Britain and other European nations calling to shift the Champions League final from its current venue at St. Petersburg.

German side FC Schalke 04 have also under fire for their longstanding shirt sponsorship with Russian multinational energy corporation, Gazprom.

In response, the club released a statement relaying that they would monitor the situation and also reiterated their commitment to peaceful coexistence.

However, the German press took matters into their own hands as newspaper BILD blocked out the sponsor’s name replacing it with “Freedom for Ukraine” slogans in the latest editions of the paper.

The newspaper initially received plaudits from the footballing community for their bold and quick response to the development and for their attempt at severing the evolving crisis’ ties with football at this early stage.  

However, with the same rapid speed, the action has come under scrutiny as well after fans have discovered and shared images that show the BILD website continuing to sell Schalke shirts with the Russian sponsor’s title still intact.

The newspaper continues to face backlash for the hypocritic behaviour in light of this recent expose. There has been no comment or statement yet from the German newspaper regarding this latest revelation.

BILD director Walter Straten was right in stating that footballing cannot stand watching as one nation declares war. However, his words have lost the sense of meaning they carried following the exposure of the money-grabbing mentality behind the scenes.