March 7 – Spanish kit maker Joma has come under fire for agreeing a new deal to supply Russian club side Zenit Saint Petersburg with home and away strips next season.
Joma is the official kit supplier of the Ukrainian national team.
Zenit is owned by Gazprom and is the team Russian president Vladimir Putin supports. Joma also supplies Russian Premier League clubs CSKA Moscow and FC Akhmat Grozny.
This is despite an announcement from Joma in July of last year that is had stopped all sponsorship contracts with Russian and Belarusian sports teams.
Joma’s office in the Ukraine expressed surprise at learning of the agreement with Zenit, writing on social media that “our company is 100% Ukrainian, where real patriots of Ukraine work.
“Since the first days of the war, we have been supporting our Armed Forces by purchasing and transferring to the front everything necessary for our victory.
“Some of our employees are now in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
The Joma Ukraine post went on to say: “Sponsorship of Russian sports is an irresponsible act that we cannot support.”
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