Protest posters against Ukraine war
Russian TV broadcaster cancels live broadcast of BVB against Leipzig
BVB fans hold an anti-war poster at Signal-Iduna-Park during the game against RB-Leipzig
© Alex Grimm / Getty Images
The Bundesliga can still be seen live in Russia. However, last weekend the Russian broadcaster canceled the broadcast because of the anti-war posters in the stadium.
It is hardly known: The Bundesliga is broadcast live in Russia. Last weekend, however, it became too explosive for the Russian TV station MatchTV, which owns the live rights. During the first half, the broadcaster stopped broadcasting the game between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig at Signal Iduna Park. The reason for this was the protest posters, which were visible from afar, and the slogans “Stop War” and “#StandWithUkraine” on the stadium display panel and the LED banner.
“Unfortunately, we have to cancel the broadcast for reasons beyond our control,” commentator Igor Kytmanov said. “In general, it means looking at football and politics separately. But this rule is not always followed in the Bundesliga.” Sport.de and ntv.de first reported on it.
MatchTV must transmit the live signal unchanged
The German Football League decided at the beginning of March to continue its contract with the Russian media company Match TV for the time being and to donate the proceeds to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. The English Premier League and French Ligue 1 had ended live broadcasts.
The DFL had waived an extraordinary termination of the contract so that the anti-war calls and appeals for peace from the German stadiums could continue to reach the Russian population, was the reasoning. The prerequisite for this was that Match TV broadcast the basic signal provided by the DFL unchanged – including Ukraine-related messages from the league, players, clubs and fans.
DFL wants to check broadcast
“The DFL will carefully check the broadcast of the Bundesliga broadcasts in this regard,” the DFL announced in March. “Should the basic TV signal be repeatedly censored, this would result in an extraordinary dismissal from the DFL.”
In total, the DFL wants to make one million euros in donations available. In the event that no more license payments are received from Russia, the DFL wants to bear the donation in full.