DFB presidential candidate Peter Peters (59) calls on the European Football Union UEFA to reconsider the partnership with the Russian major sponsor Gazprom.
“We are now under an obligation not to continue as we have done in the past,” Peters told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. “I can’t imagine, given the war, that anyone in football would want to be associated with this issue.”
The Russian state-owned company has been a sponsor of the Champions League since 2012. In May 2021, a new contract, probably worth millions, was signed, which also includes national team competitions until 2024.
Gazprom Germania, a German Gazprom subsidiary, has been sponsoring the second division club FC Schalke since 2007. Peters, who left the club in 2020, was Schalke’s chief financial officer when the contract was signed.
“We can’t hide behind contractual obligations or claims for damages now,” said Peters, who sits on the council of world governing body FIFA. “If someone does that in football, it’s the beginning of the end. The signs must now be so clear that everyone understands them. The burden sharing that results from these decisions at European level must then be shouldered anew and in solidarity.”
FC Schalke had announced that they would no longer wear the Gazprom logo after the Russian attack on Ukraine. The UEFA Executive Committee will discuss how to proceed in the Ukraine crisis this Friday.