Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine Caused Schalke 04 To Remove The Gazprom Gas Company Logo On Players' Costumes

JAKARTA - German football club Schalke 04 confirmed on Thursday that it would remove the name of Russian gas company Gazprom from its team jerseys following the military invasion of Ukraine.

"In light of the events, developments, and escalation of the last few days, FC Schalke 04 has decided to remove the logo of its main sponsor, Gazprom, from the team jersey," the second division club said in a statement, as reported by AFP quoted by Antara, Friday.

The club added that the decision had been taken "after talks" with the Germania subsidiary Gazprom.

The Gelsenkirchen-based club is historically one of the best-sponsored teams in Germany and they have been sponsored by Gazprom since 2007.

Earlier, the club announced that Matthias Warnig, Gazprom's representative on the club's supervisory board, would step down from his position.

Warnig is CEO of the parent company for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, whose approval the German government suspended on Tuesday.

Companies and CEOs have also been personally targeted by US sanctions announced Wednesday.

Warnig was previously a member of the Stasi secret police in communist East Germany, before becoming a gas company executive after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

He has served on the board of trustees at Schalke since 2019.