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KOMPAS.com – The strategic success of the Russian troops in their invasion of Ukraine was rewarded in the form of blow after blow that Vladimir Putin’s country received in the world of sports.
Until Friday (25/2/2022) evening WIB, aka the second day of the invasion, international media reported that Russian parachute troops and special forces (VDV and Spetsnaz) had been seen on the outskirts of Kyiv.
A convoy of Russian tanks and heavy equipment was reportedly en route to the Ukrainian capital.
The resistance of the Ukrainian forces was persistent but it did not seem to be enough to face the bulldozers which were the Russian army.
Russia’s success in crushing all resistance on Ukrainian soil was repaid by Western countries in other areas.
Economic sanctions and bans on banks, Russian oligarchs and their assets became one of the main instruments.
Meanwhile, the world of sports fought back by revoking all rights and privileges of Russia as the host of prestigious events.
Also read: The impact of the Russia vs Ukraine war, UEFA moves the Champions League final to France
The first fixture came when UEFA announced at around 5pm CEST on Friday that the 2022 Champions League final would be stripped of Saint Petersburg and moved to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France.
A few hours after that, the world of auto racing was one heart with football.
Formula 1 (F1) announced the cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, which was originally scheduled to take place on September 23-25, 2022.
Similar announcements also came from the Euroleague (European basketball league) and EHF (European handball federation) which said that no matches should be played in Russia.
The basketball match between CSKA Moscow and Barcelona scheduled for Sunday (27/2/2022) has also been postponed.
Meanwhile, in club football, German club Schalke 04 removed the Gazprom logo from their jersey without elaborating on the continuation of the 10 million euros per season sponsorship.
?? Following recent developments, FC Schalke 04 have decided to remove the logo of main sponsor GAZPROM from the club’s shirts. It will be replaced by lettering reading ‘Schalke 04’ instead.#S04 pic.twitter.com/9kpJLRzTQ7
– FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) February 24, 2022
Manchester United also terminated the cooperation with Russian airline Aeroflot that had existed since 2013.
The Boris Johnson government has also banned the airline from the UK following the invasion of Ukraine.
From UEFA itself, Al Jazeera reports that European football’s highest body is finally determined to end its association with Gazprom, the Russian energy giant based in Saint Petersburg.
“UEFA is estimated to get 30 million pounds a year from Gazprom. But, now they are seeking legal help to get out of the deal,” said their reporter Will Dalton.
In fact, Gazprom, which is mostly owned by the Russian government, is closely tied to European football politics through the figure of Alexander Valeryevich Dyuko.
The 57-year-old is the Chairman of Gazprom Neft (a subsidiary of Gazprom working in the oil sector) who also became president of the Russian Football Federation in 2019 and was re-elected in 2021.
Dyuko also served as president of Zenit in 2008-2017 and now has an important role in European football after being appointed a member of the UEFA Executive Committee from April 2021.
The Economic Impact of the Champions League Final
Especially for the city of Saint Petersburg, the loss after the revocation of the right to host the Champions League final is expected to be in the tens of millions of euros.
Fundamentally, the economic effect of hosting the most prestigious football match will be related to the hospitality industry, restaurants, tourist activities, and other service sectors such as hospitality, security, and sponsorship.
In the case of the 2017 Champions League final, for example, the Cardiff city government estimated the economic impact of the Juventus vs Real Madrid match at that time at around 53 million euros or around 856 billion rupiah in direct and other expenses in the city.
The Champions League final is of course a big attraction for the host city. When Cardiff hosted, it was estimated that around 200,000 people attended during the game week.
Also read: Impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Champions League Final Arena Moved, F1 Russian GP Canceled, MU Terminates Sponsor Contract
The revenue for the city of Cardiff is on par with the financial impact of any other city hosting the Champions League. Roma felt the impact of 45 million euros in the 2009 final and London around 52 million euros.
Meanwhile, according to several studies, the 2014 final between two Spanish teams, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, had an economic impact of 50 million euros on the city of Lisbon, Portugal.
The study quoted from totalfootballanalysis describes that around 54 percent (27 million euros) of the financial impact came from hospitality, 22 percent (11 million euros) from catering, 7 percent (3.5 million euros) from tourism activities, and 17 (8.5 million euros). million euros) percent to other services.
Thousands Protestornot a fan
On Friday night local time, thousands of people also packed the city of Saint Petersburg.
However, they are local residents who took to the streets of Vladimir Putin’s hometown to protest the war that was taking place.
“I have no words, it’s disgusting,” said a young woman who asked not to be named in Saint Petersburg, as quoted by AL Jazeera.
“What is there to say? We feel helpless, sad.”
“Ukraine is not our enemy! Russia is fighting war!” people say loudly.
Read also: Gazprom, the Russian Energy giant in the vortex of the Ukrainian crisis and the Champions League
Deep in Russia’s south, the city of Sochi is looking at their first year without a Formula 1 race since the Sochi Autodrom hosted the Russian Grand Prix in 2014.
The beautiful beach of the city of Adler in Sochi is the backdrop for the 2018 World Cup quarter-final match between the Russian and Croatian national teams which will be held at the Fisht Olympic Stadium on Saturday (7/7/2018).
Formula 1 was firm in its statement canceling the Russian Grand Prix, saying it was “sad and shocked” by the developments in Ukraine that it was “impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix under the current circumstances”.
This is certainly a big loss for Sochi, a tourism city on the Black Sea which has lost potential arrivals of up to 125-150,000 people during the Formula 1 race weekend.
The economic impact of hosting a Formula 1 racing event is enormous, even more massive than the Champions League.
For example, a study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that the Azerbaijan GP in Baku city created an economic increase of 277 million dollars or 4 trillion rupiah between 2016 and 2017.
Sochi Autodrom during the 2018 World Cup performance. The war in Ukraine made Formula 1 cancel the Russian GP at that venue.Meanwhile, the United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is even said to have an economic impact of 2.8 billion dollars to the Austin city area and its surroundings for the 2012-2015 period.
Sochi Autodrom itself was created from Russian government funds with strong support from Vladimir Putin so that this cancellation will definitely be felt directly by the president.
As a result, Russia and Putin may be winning the war in Ukraine. However, they are losing badly in the world of sports.
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