The text that appeared in the on-site advertisement interrupted the TV broadcast in Russia.
The text on the outskirts of the Bielefeld stadium was the work of the Bayern Munich team. AOP
The match between Arminia Bielefeld and Bayern Munich on Easter Sunday in the Bundesliga saw a strong statement.
The text “Stop War, Putin” appeared in the side advertisement of the football field, in Finnish “Stop War, Putin”.
The text was a clear protest against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The text appeared in the scoring 30 minutes into the game. Shortly afterwards, MatchTV, which owns Bundesliga TV rights in Russia, suspended the match.
The Russian presenter of the match justified the interruption of the broadcast with the phrase: “Sport is not political”.
The situation in the Bundesliga was not entirely new, as a similar situation was seen two weeks earlier when television coverage of the two matches was suspended in Russia.
Still in Russia
The German Football League (DFL) decided in April to extend MatchTV’s TV rights, even though many European leagues had already terminated contracts with Russian TV companies. DFL says it will terminate the contract if broadcasts are still cut off.
DFL justifies its decision on the grounds that they want to reach Russian viewers and give them a peaceful view of the stadiums. DFL hopes they have even a small chance to influence the Russian people with the snippets and images seen at the stadium.
DFL has also said it will donate the proceeds from MatchTV’s partnership to humanitarian aid.
Source: n-tv