Eintracht Frankfurt demands from its sponsor Kaspersky that the Russian company distance itself from the Russian attack on Ukraine. So far, Kaspersky has not complied with this requirement. Eintracht therefore suspends sponsorship and threatens to terminate the contract.
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The Kaspersky Lab logo at the Kaspersky Lab headquarters in Moscow.
© Tatiana Belova/Shutterstock.com
The Russian security and antivirus company Kaspersky is one of the sponsors of the soccer club Eintracht Frankfurt. Frankfurt plays in the 1st Bundesliga. The club has now suspended the sponsorship contract that has existed since 2018 with its previous “premium partner” Kaspersky, as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports in its online edition. Frankfurt is now asking Kaspersky to expressly distance itself from the war.
This clear declaration must be made this week.
If Kaspersky is not prepared to do so, Eintracht wants to end the contract with Kaspersky immediately.
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Kaspersky is currently not available on the Eintracht Frankfurt website, where all sponsors are listed. On the Kaspersky website, on the other hand, Eintracht Frankfurt is still advertised: “Eintracht fans beware: As a premium partner, we do everything we can to support the club and its fans. The multiple award-winning Kaspersky security solutions are now available at an absolutely special price. Protect Windows, Mac or Android devices from Internet threats and take advantage of our exclusive offer!”. However, if you want to buy the “Eintracht Frankfurt Special Edition of Kaspersky Total Security” and click on the corresponding link, you get a 404 error message “Page not found”.
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This is what the Kaspersky site for Frankfurt currently looks like.
© store.kaspersky.de/store/kasper/de_DE/custom/pbPage.Eintracht_Frankfurt_Store
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In the game against FC Bayern Munich last Saturday, February 26, 2022 (FC Bayern Munich won their away game 1-0), Eintracht had already waived any application from Kaspersky.
Jersey advertising is not affected – unlike at Schalke
Incidentally, Kaspersky is not the jersey or main sponsor of Eintracht Frankfurt – that is the online job exchange Indeed. This means that Eintracht Frankfurt does not have to wear new jerseys without a sponsor’s name. The situation of Eintracht Frankfurt differs significantly from that of Schalke 04. Until recently, the Russian Gazprom group was the main and shirt sponsor at Schalke. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, however, Schalke 04 parted ways with Gazprom. The Schalke team is now wearing jerseys without a sponsor name. This special jersey was immediately sold out in Schalke’s online shop. Schalke now needs a new main sponsor.