Everton have suspended all commercial sponsorship arrangements with the Russian companies USM Holdings, MegaFon and Yota with immediate effect, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
USM Holdings and MegaFon are linked to billionaire and oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who was sanctioned by the European Union for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mobile virtual network operator Yota is part of the MegaFon Group.
Everton had agreed a £30 million naming rights deal with Usmanov for their proposed new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium back in 2020. His holding company USM has sponsored Everton’s Finch Farm training ground since 2017.
“Everyone at Everton remains shocked and saddened by the appalling events unfolding in Ukraine,” Everton said in a statement.
The club added they were providing “full support” to their defender and Ukraine international Vitalii Mykolenko and his family.
City gesture
Ukraine captain Oleksandr Zinchenko was made captain for the FA Cup game by Manchester City on Tuesday. He and Peterborough’s captain held the Ukrainian flag before kick-off and a message on the big screen inside the stadiumread “We Stand With Ukraine”.
Shooters banned
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has banned shooters from Russia and Belarus from all its events.
The decision came even as a World Cup takes place in Cairo where Russian shooters were competing till Tuesday. The statement from ISSF now indicates that they may no longer be able to continue in the event.
“Following the respective decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board and a meeting with the IOC president, the ISSF decided that athletes from the Russian federation and Belarus will not be allowed to take part in ISSF Championships,” the ISSF said.
Incidentally, the ISSF is currently headed by a Russian duo — billionaire president Vladimir Lisin and secretary general Alexander Ratner.
Neutral athletes
Russians and Belarusians at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing will compete as “neutral athletes”, the IOC said on Wednesday. Russian athletes had already been slated to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee, as punishment for the state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and a subsequent cover-up. The IPC added more restrictions when the Paralympics open on Friday, but stopped short of expulsion.
Russian upset
The restrictions have been strongly criticised by Russian politicians and on Wednesday by striker Artem Dzyuba, the top scorer for the Russian national soccer team. Dzyuba wrote on Instagram that he is “against any war. War is terrible,” but said he found sporting sanctions a form of discrimination.
The governing body for British motorsports banned Russians from competing at events in the country, throwing into doubt F1 driver Nikita Mazepin’s ability to race in the British Grand Prix in July.
There has also been an exodus of foreign players and coaches at Russian sports teams. Former Norwich manager Daniel Farke quit as coach of Russian football club FC Krasnodar on Wednesday. Yaroslav Rakitskiy, who played for Ukraine at two European Championships, cancelled his contract with Zenit St Petrsburg. for what the club said were family reasons.
