By the end of the morning, Friday February 25, everyone should be fixed: at the end of a meeting scheduled for 10 a.m., UEFA could formalize the relocation of the Champions League final, scheduled until there in Saint Petersburg on May 28th. As announced Associated Press and the Times Thursday, the body which governs European football would have decided to withdraw this final from Russia, after the military operation launched in Ukraine more than 24 hours ago.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that there was “no chance of maintaining football events in a Russia that invades sovereign countries“. For UEFA, the decision is quite simple to take: relocating matches has become routine for two years now and the body could justify this choice by obvious security problems. But with regard to its partnership with Gazprom, on which it is also expected on Friday, UEFA is at an impasse.
Since 2012, the majority-owned Russian gas giant has been UEFA’s major sponsor. In ten years, Gazprom has become a key player in European football. During Champions League matches, the company logo is everywhere, and generations of young football fans have been lulled by Gazprom advertising preceding C1 matches.
Very close ties, which today put the body headed by Aleksander Ceferin in trouble. “UEFA have been totally wrong with Gazprom for more than ten years. She should never have put herself in this position“says Simon Chadwick, professor of geopolitics and sports economics, who has written numerous articles on the collusion between UEFA and Gazprom.
As they keep repeating their apoliticism, UEFA ended up shooting themselves in the foot by taking action”as a rational economic actor, without thinking about the consequences“, explains the professor of British origin. It must be said that the partnership with the Russian giant is lucrative. Very lucrative. According to SportBusiness Sponsorship estimates, the contract for the period 2018-2021 brought in 40 million euros per year at UEFA.
Enough to encourage the body of European football to extend the adventure in May 2021. In addition to being the major sponsor of the Champions League, Gazprom will now be in the League of Nations, for the next qualifiers for Euro 2024 and for the next two European Championships. A constant presence. In its official press release last May, UEFA then presented Gazprom as “one of its most reliable partners“.
UEFA shares the international community’s significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine.
Full statement: ⬇️
— UEFA (@UEFA) February 24, 2022
But at the same time, UEFA forgot to take Gazprom’s goals into consideration. “The first was to build legitimacy. It’s a kind of soft-power sponsorship“, explains Simon Chadwick, who believes that the gas giant has succeeded in its work “because no one thinks anymore about what Gazprom is doing in European football“. The other objective is more strategic. More linked to Russian power. To the intentions of the man who leads the Kremlin and is tormenting Ukraine today.
“Gazprom uses football as a means of diplomacy, to try to find buyers and thus expand Russian influence on the continent“, believes Simon Chadwick. More than the traditional diplomatic channels, aren’t the boxes of a stadium the best place to conclude contracts? “It’s long 90 minutes, so it leaves time to discuss everything“, indicated the former president François Hollande to the Telegram last year.
On their very relative scale, the representatives of Gazprom have, thanks to this partnership with UEFA, enabled Russia to find new outlets for its gas on the European continent. Today, 40% of the gas imported into the European Union comes from Russia (80% for Hungary and Finland, 50% for Germany, 20% for France). “Manchester schools are supplied with gas by Gazprom“says Simon Chadwick, who also underlines the interest in the gas giant”to have integrated the mysteries of the power of European football“.
Alexander Dyukov, head of the oil branch of Gazprom, is thus a member of the UEFA executive committee. This close friend of Vladimir Putin will therefore attend the UEFA meeting to be held on Friday and will perhaps try to weigh in on the Russian position. In particular concerning the maintenance of the contract between Gazprom and UEFA. “It’s complicated for UEFA. The simplest would be to say that they are apolitical and that they have a contract to respect“, believes Simon Chadwick. Breaking with Gazprom would put UEFA in the face of threats of legal action.
In 2007, the German magazine 11Freunde explained after the conclusion of the partnership between the German club Schalke 04 and Gazprom – suspended on Thursday – that signing this type of contract with the Russian giant, “it’s like having sex without a condom“. Despite the first geopolitical upheavals in Ukraine in 2014, UEFA decided to extend the union with Gazprom, renewing this partnership several times. Today, it finds itself back to the wall.