Nike has terminated its sponsorship agreement with Russian first division club Spartak Moscow due to its absence from European competitions next season, the company and the club announced.
UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, decided that no Russian teams will be allowed to participate in its club competitions in the 2022-23 season due to Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Spartak, which had had Nike sponsorship since 2005, said Thursday they were looking for a new uniform supplier after Nike told them it would no longer sponsor the club.
In a statement emailed to Reuters on Friday, Nike said it had informed Spartak that it would no longer be the club’s uniform sponsor «given UEFA’s decision to suspend all Russian clubs from UEFA competitions.»
The Europa League round of 16 matches between Spartak and RB Leipzig were suspended in February after UEFA suspended all Russian clubs from its competitions.
Russia invaded Ukraine with tens of thousands of troops on February 24, in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbor’s military capabilities and root out those it calls dangerous nationalists.
In response, the West imposed broad sanctions on Russia and provided military support to Ukraine.