The Premier League made a drastic decision, announcing that its clubs have unanimously agreed to suspend the deal with Russian broadcast partner Rambler (Okko Sport) with immediate effect and announcing the donation of one million pounds sterling to support the people of Ukraine.
The donation will be made to the “Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) to deliver humanitarian aid directly to those in need.”
The statement expressed its rejection of the invasion of Russian troops into Ukrainian territory. “The League strongly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
We call for peace, and our thoughts are with all those affected,” they said.
The cancellation of the contract takes effect immediately, which is why the next four games, which will be played on Thursday, will not be televised in Russia.
They will be Wolves-Watford, Leeds United-Aston Villa, Southampton-Newcastle and Norwich-Chelsea.
The English Football Association resolved the same measure according to the British press. Therefore, the matches that will be played during March of the FA Cup can no longer be seen in Russian territory.
Below is the complete statement
The Premier League and its clubs today unanimously agreed to suspend our agreement with Russian broadcast partner Rambler (Okko Sport) with immediate effect and donate £1 million to support the people of Ukraine.
The League strongly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We call for peace and our thoughts are with all those affected.
The £1 million donation will be made to the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) to deliver humanitarian aid directly to those in need.
This action follows a weekend of matches showing the league-wide support for Ukraine.
All club captains wore special armbands and fans joined the players, coaches, referees and club staff in a moment of reflection and solidarity before the start of each match.
Large screens showed “Football Stands Together” against the backdrop of the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. These words were also displayed on the LED perimeter boards during matches.
This message of solidarity was visible to fans around the world through the Premier League’s digital channels and through match broadcasts.
Poland is one game away from the World Cup
FIFA issued a statement where it was announced that Poland is only one game away from qualifying for the World Cup, while the match between Ukraine and Scotland has been rescheduled.
“On March 3, 2022, the Ukrainian Football Association wrote to FIFA requesting the rescheduling of its qualifying matches due to the impossibility of organizing both travel and training for a team under the current circumstances.
Following consultation with UEFA and the four participating member associations in Path A of the European qualifying play-offs, it was unanimously agreed in a spirit of solidarity to accept this request.
“The match between Scotland and Ukraine, initially scheduled for March 24, 2022, will now be postponed to the existing June window and consequently the match between the bracket winners will also be postponed.
Furthermore, it has been agreed that the match between Wales and Austria will remain as scheduled on 24 March 2022, due to the need to limit the disruption of competitive matches already scheduled for the June window in what is already a congested schedule.”.
Finally, the statement announces that due to the elimination of Russia from the World Cup race, Poland entered the final of Route B of the matchup, which will take place on March 29, 2022, in which it will face the winner of the match. between Sweden and the Czech Republic.