During the Arminia Bielefeld game against Bayern Munich on Easter Sunday, the host sends clear signals on the advertising board. “Stop War, Putin!” is written there. Too much for the Russian licensee “MatchTV”, which once again stops broadcasting.
“Stop War, Putin!” on the advertising board of the Bielefelder Alm when Arminia lost 3-0 against record champions Bayern Munich. A clear message against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which has now been going on for almost two months. An affront to the Russian Bundesliga licensee “MatchTV”, which stopped broadcasting the game on Easter Sunday.
After almost 30 minutes, the broadcast of the game was stopped with brief words in the middle of an offensive action by Bayern. The broadcaster continues to adhere to the principle of keeping sport out of politics. “Football and sport are non-political,” said the game’s commentator. It wasn’t the first incident of this kind.
Two weeks ago, after similar messages of peace in the stadiums, the broadcast of the game between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig and the day after that of the duel between Borussia Mönchengladbach and FSV Mainz 05 ended prematurely. Media in Russia are banned from using terms such as “attack,” “invasion,” and “declaration of war” when reporting on the war against Ukraine. Moscow describes the war as a military “special operation”.
DFL observes development
In a statement at the beginning of April, the German Football League (DFL) stated that it would stick to the contract with the Russian Bundesliga partner “Match TV”. Instead of an extraordinary termination and the waiver of the broadcast of the league in Russia, the DFL wanted to continue to “reach the people of Russia with messages of peace from the stadiums”. However, the DFL also threatened to end the business relationship if there were further transmission breaks. “At the same time, we are of course closely monitoring whether and to what extent this option is still available,” said the statement distributed by the league.
Other big leagues like the English Premier League or Ligue 1 from France have suspended their contracts in Russia. The Bundesliga, on the other hand, is currently continuing to rely on the power of images and on using the messages from the stadiums to have at least a small influence on the perception of the war among the Russian population. The DFL announced early on that “in the current situation it will not benefit from the partnership with “Match TV” and will donate the income that is still outstanding from the partnership this season in favor of humanitarian aid”.
In addition to the power of the pictures from the German stadiums, the Bundesliga clubs continue to rely on great solidarity with Ukraine and the clubs in the Ukrainian league. Borussia Dortmund welcomes top club Dynamo Kyiv on April 26th. The game will be broadcast live by “ZDF”. Meanwhile, a broadcast on Russian television is not to be expected.
“We ask you all, regardless of whether you support BVB or another team, whether you are a football fan or not – please buy a ticket for our benefit match against Dynamo Kyiv,” explained managing director Carsten Cramer. “Let’s set a global sign of solidarity against war and for peace in Europe. And above all, let’s help the local people together.”