In a statement released on Thursday, the German second-division club, Schalke 04, has announced the removal of Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom as their shirt sponsors.

“In view of the events, development and escalation of the past few days, FC Schalke 04 has decided to remove the lettering of its main sponsor – "GAZPROM" – from the jerseys.”, read the club’s website.

The club will replace the sponsor’s name with the club’s name instead. “This step follows discussions with Gazprom Germania. Instead, 'Schalke 04' will be on the chest of the Royal Blues.”

The announcement came on the back of the resignation of Matthias Warnig from Schalke’s board, who had been Gazprom’s representative on the board since July 2019. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked outrage in the European Parliament as the lawmakers call for this season’s Champions League final to be moved to a different venue instead of Saint Petersburg. 

In addition to this, the governing body appealed to the UEFA Executive committee to terminate the sponsorship deal with Gazprom. Meanwhile, football is suspended in Ukraine as Russian troops advance into Ukrainian soil.