Schalke end 15-year-long sponsorship with Gazprom amid Ukraine conflict

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A tattered advertising poster shows the current jersey of the German first division Bundesliga football club FC Schalke 04 with the imprint of the club's sponsor Russian gas company Gazprom at the Veltins-Arena stadium in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany, on February 25, 2022. - German football club Schalke 04 said on February 24, 2022 it would remove Russian gas company Gazprom as its main shirt sponsor following the invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP) (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

German side Schalke has terminated their sponsorship deal with Russian energy giants Gazprom following the conflict in the Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made the shocking decision to give his military forces the green light to invade Ukraine last Thursday.

Since then global headlines have rightfully been dominated by the perilous conflict with criticism of the Russian state piling in from all directions.

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Although global Governments have been quick to initiate strict financial sanctions on Russia, sport is also taking a hard stance.

Supporters around the world have been clear in their message to stop the conflict in Ukraine.

UEFA first announced they’re stripping the country of this season’s Champions League final before countries such as Poland and England confirmed they will not compete against Russia – at any level.

However, the latest sporting organisation to weigh in has been German giants Schalke, who on Monday morning, have confirmed that with the help of the league’s supervisory board, they have terminated their partnership with Gazprom – an agreement that had been in place since 2007.

Gazprom is a Russian-state owned energy corporation that, according to Forbes, boast sales figures of over £67bn.

The company are also the leading sponsor of the Champions League and as things currently stand, that has not changed.

This is a breaking story and CaughtOffside will update you when more information comes in…