Schalke ends sponsorship deal with Gazprom amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to spark reactions from the international sports community. 

Per Reuters (h/t ESPN), German football club Schalke 04 announced on Monday they have canceled their partnership with Russia's Gazprom prematurely in a response to the nation's aggression against Ukraine. 

"The club are currently in discussions with representatives of the current sponsor and further information will be released at a later date," Schalke explained in a brief statement. "This decision does not affect the club’s financial capabilities. The club’s leadership are confident to be able to announce a new partner in the near future." 

Schalke were relegated from the Bundesliga, Germany's top-flight league, in the 2020-21 season and currently play in the second tier. Gazprom had sponsored Schalke since 2007. 

UEFA also ended its partnership with Gazprom across all competitions effective immediately. That decision runs through at least the 2024 European Championship. 

Per Mark Ogden of ESPN, UEFA and FIFA have suspended all Russian national teams and clubs until further notice, a move that has booted the country out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

"Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice," the governing bodies said in a joint statement. "These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters.

"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people."