The English Football League (EFL) and the Premier League have unanimously agreed to suspend their Russian broadcast deals, joining Europe’s retaliation for the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement means that people in Russia are now not able to watch Premier League games on Okko Sport, and EFL matches on Football TV and iFollow, whilst further streaming services are also set to be dropped, The Guardian reported.
In a statement, the Premier League wrote: “The League strongly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We call for peace and our thoughts are with all those impacted. This action follows a weekend of matches displaying League-wide support for Ukraine.”
Additionally, the English top-flight has also promised £1 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee to deliver aid.
Before kick-off at each of the aforementioned matches, all of the club’s captains have been wearing representative armbands whilst fans joined players, managers, match officials and club staff in a ‘moment of reflection and solidarity’.
Furthemore, screens at the games displayed the ‘Football Stands Together’ motto against a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag backdrop, which was also shown on LED perimeter boards during matches.
“This message of solidarity was visible to fans around the world across Premier League digital channels and via match broadcasts,” the league added. “This is in addition to the numerous ways in which clubs continue to display their support.”
Premier League clubs continue to show and provide their support for Ukraine as the crisis continues.
Similarly, it was also reported this week that the National Hockey League (NHL) suspended its dealings with Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) due to the escalating situation in the country.
This move will make it more difficult for teams to sign players from the area, as the league told its teams to ‘immediately cease all dealings with the KHL and KHL clubs, as well as with player agents who are based in and continue to do business in Russia’.
