German soccer club Schalke 04 removes Gazprom logo from shirts

July 23, 2021 Schalke 04's Simon Terodde and Marius Bulter look dejected after Hamburger SV's Bakery Jatta scored their third goal REUTERS

German soccer club Schalke 04 tweeted on Thursday it was removing the logo of Gazprom from its shirts due to recent developments after Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Schalke says the logo will be replaced by lettering that reads "Schalke 04."

"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 team said on social media.

?? 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.="https://twitter.com/hashtag/S04?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#S04< ="https://t.co/9kpJLRzTQ7">pic.twitter.com/9kpJLRzTQ7< — FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) ="https://twitter.com/s04_en/status/1496844095225937924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2022<

Gazprom, which is majority-owned by the Russian government, has been the sponsor of Schalke 04 since 2007. Schalke is the only individual football club sponsored by Gazprom outside of Russia.

Uefa has also condemned Russia‘s military action and will move this season‘s Champions League final from St Petersburg.

The Champions League final, the showcase match in European club football, was set to be held at Zenit St Petersburg's stadium on May 28 - an event that would have normally drawn thousands of fans from across the continent.