Schalke snub Gazprom as Bundesliga club end 15 year sponsorship in Ukraine show of solidarity

Schalke 04 have announced they will dump long-term sponsors Gazprom after Russia invaded Ukraine causing fears of unrest across Eastern Europe.

PJSC Gazprom is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg.

German newspaper Bild has already began covering any Gazprom logos on Schalke jerseys with “Freedom for Ukraine" to protest against Russia's deepening military intervention in Ukraine.

And a statement from the Bundesliga club read: "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 Gelsenkirchen-based club is historically one of Germany's best supported teams and has been sponsored by Gazprom since 2007.

Matthias Warnig, a senior Gazprom executive had already stepped down from the supervisory board at Schalke earlier today after being a target of U.S. sanctions.

Warnig is the CEO of Nord Stream 2, who are facing US sanctions for their links to Russia.

UEFA are also under pressure to break their association with Gazprom, especially with the 2022 Champions League final set to be staged in Saint Petersburg on May 28.

An emergency meeting has been called for Friday morning as European football's governing body prepare to defer the location of the showpiece final.

That's expected to have an impact on Scotland's World Cup qualifier with Ukraine which is currently scheduled to take place at Hampden next month.