Premier League suspends broadcast deal in Russia

Premier League games will not be shown on Russian television after the governing body suspended its agreement with broadcast partner Rambler (Okko Sport).

The decision was made at a shareholders’ meeting in London on Tuesday, where all 20 clubs were in agreement, as the Premier League continues to react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The EFL has withdrawn access to its iFollow and other club streaming services in Russia.

The Premier League will also donate £1million to support the people affected by the war.

A statement read: “The Premier League and its clubs today unanimously agreed to suspend our agreement with Russian broadcast partner Rambler (Okko Sport) with immediate effect and to 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 impacted.

“The £1 million donation will be made to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to deliver humanitarian aid directly to those in need.

The move comes after there was league-wide support for Ukraine over the weekend, where club captains wore special armbands, messages of support were displayed on big screens and there was a moment of reflection before kick-off at each of the 10 games.

The statement added: “This message of solidarity was visible to fans around the world across Premier League digital channels and via match broadcasts.

“This is in addition to the numerous ways in which clubs continue to display their support.”

Rights for the FA Cup in Russia are owned by IMG, and the PA news agency understands the Football Association is in regular contact with them as it reviews the situation.

EFL matches and club content will no longer be available in Russia after the governing body stopped access to iFollow and other streaming services.

The government has endorsed the Premier League’s decision, with sports minister Nigel Huddleston saying Russian president Vladimir Putin must remain a “pariah”.

He said: “This is absolutely the right thing to do and we fully support the Premier League’s decision to stop broadcasting matches in Russia in response to Putin’s barbaric, senseless invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia cannot be allowed to legitimise its illegal war through sport and culture, and we must work together to ensure Putin remains a pariah on the international stage.”

The Russian Football Union’s appeal against the ban on its national teams and clubs from international competitions has reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a decision due “in a few days’ time.”

FIFA and UEFA, the respective governing bodies of world and European football, announced on February 28 that Russian teams would be excluded from their events “until further notice” following the invasion of Ukraine.

This means that Russia are banned from participating in this month’s men’s World Cup qualifying play-offs and UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 this summer. Spartak Moscow have also been removed from the Europa League.

The CAS confirmed in a statement on Tuesday it has received notice of Russia’s appeal against the ban and request for a stay in its imposition while the case is heard.

Scotland’s World Cup play-off semi-final against Ukraine has been postponed, the PA news agency understands.

The Ukraine football authorities made a request to FIFA last week to postpone the game, which is scheduled for March 24 at Hampden, and the world governing body is expected to confirm the postponement soon.

The winners of the game were scheduled to meet Wales or Austria in a play-off final on March 29.

The Scottish Football Association has been in regular contact with both FIFA and UEFA since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to discuss both the play-off game and a women’s World Cup qualifier between the two countries, which is scheduled for April 8.

The men’s team are also due to host Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League on June 7 but their World Cup play-off looks likely to be moved to that month.

Scotland are also due to play the Republic of Ireland plus a double header against Armenia in June’s Nations League schedule.

Wales and Austria are waiting to discover whether their play-off semi-final in Cardiff will go ahead as planned on March 24.