Schalke announced on Monday that they plan to formally sever ties with long-time sponsor Gazprom in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The association said in a statement that its executive and supervisory boards were in talks with the Russian state oil giant to end the cooperation.
The sponsorship deal was to run until 2025, with the club receiving € 9 million ($ 10 million) – € 15 million in the event that the club is promoted back to the Bundesliga. The Russian state oil giant has been a sponsor of the club since 2007.
Schalke had already removed Gazpromlogo from their uniforms for Saturday’s second division match against Karlsruhe. The representative of the oil company on the board of directors of the association, Matthias Warnig, had already resigned from his role.
The Gelsenkirchen-based club, which owes hundreds of millions of euros, said in a statement that the end of the partnership “would not affect the club’s financial capacity”.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, the interim head of the German Football Association (DFB), has already hinted that financial aid could be on the way if Schalke chooses to leave Gazprom.
“If this requires the solidarity of other clubs in Germany to get them out of this situation, then we need to discuss how we can manage it,” Watzke told the public broadcaster ZDF.
The Bundesliga clubs show solidarity with Ukraine
Schalke’s announcement comes amid gestures of solidarity on the pitch and on the stands during German football matches on Saturday, as fans and clubs showed their support for Ukraine in light of the Russian invasion.
There were scattered Ukrainian flags in the Bundesliga stadiums, while all the matches started with a minute of silence.
Greuther Fürth and Cologne held up a blue and yellow banner (pictured) with the words “stop the war, we are against the war” before their 1-1 draw. Bayer Leverkusen avoided playing their regular carnival music during the 3-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld and Freiburg lit up the tunnel of players with the national colors of Ukraine before their three-goal victory over Hertha Berlin.
Union Berlin, which prides itself on compiling a live pre-match playlist, played almost exclusively songs about war and peace. The 1-0 champions Bayern Munich in Frankfurt also saw the stadium illuminated in yellow and blue with screens showing the message “Stop Putin” and Robert Lewandowski wearing an armband with the flag of Ukraine. Earlier, the Bayern striker had supported the attitude of the Polish Football Federation to boycott the upcoming World Cup playoffs against Russia.
Similarly, the Augsburg players’ shirts had a Ukrainian flag sewn in the center when they welcomed Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
Support events around football
For Danylo Silkan, the only Ukrainian player in Germany’s top two divisions, it was a moving day as he lined up for Hansa Rostock against Nuremberg. His coach, Jens Härtel, said the 20-year-old was “of course extremely stressed and anxious”. Silkan is currently on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Rostock had tweeted in favor of Ukraine shortly before the start.
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine has shaken us all deeply. We condemn any kind of war. Sport represents unity, fair play and solidarity. Our support goes to all the innocent people, to whom – like Danylo Sikan – we are by our side. “
In the Premier League, players from Manchester United and Watford, along with United manager Ralph Rangnick, posed in front of a peace sign before the start.
In Italy, all Serie A matches were postponed for five minutes in another protest against the Russian invasion.
This article was updated from a previous version.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
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