Alleged Russia aid
Lewandowski has had enough of the Chinese giant Huawei
03/07/2022, 18:02
Robert Lewandowski continues to politicize himself. First the FC Bayern Munich striker is a loud voice in front of the FIFA ban on all Russian teams, and now he is apparently terminating a well-paid advertising contract with Huawei. The Chinese giant is said to have backed Russia.
Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski has ended his collaboration with the Chinese Huawei group with immediate effect, his manager has confirmed. The reason given by the Polish media is the possible involvement of the high-tech giant in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. “I would like to inform that today we made the decision to end the cooperation between Robert Lewandowski and the Huawei brand,” quoted Polish sports site WP Sportowe Fakty as saying Tomasz Zawislak, the Bayern star’s manager.
At the weekend, the newspaper “Daily Mail” reported on a possible connection between Huawei and the Russian attack on Ukraine. The British newspaper had picked up reports from China. There it was said that the Chinese company provided quick support after the attacks by the “Anonymous” group on Russia’s digital infrastructure. Huawei initially did not comment on the allegations, but later described them as “fake news”. In the English parliament, the House of Commons, a conservative MP last week called for sanctions against companies that “help or have helped Putin” and not just against oligarchs.
However, according to Polish media reports, Lewandowski was not convinced by Huawei’s statements and instructed his lawyers to terminate the business relationship immediately. It was only in January 2022 that the Bayern striker and the Chinese company extended their cooperation, which had existed since November 2015, to 2025. Lewandowski is said to have received around five million euros a year for his role as brand ambassador in Eastern Europe and the Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
Polish federation boycotted Russia
Lewandowski took a clear position shortly after the attack on Ukraine. Along with the Polish national team, they announced soon after Russia’s invasion of Poland’s neighbor that they would not be available for the World Cup playoff game against Russia on March 24 in Moscow.
“I can’t imagine playing a game against the Russian national team while armed aggression continues in Ukraine. Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this. But we can’t pretend nothing is happening,” wrote the forward of FC Bayern Munich on Twitter and then ran out at Bayern’s Bundesliga game at Eintracht Frankfurt with a captain’s armband in the national colors of Ukraine. A little later, after some hesitation and under pressure from numerous nations, FIFA excluded all Russian and Belarusian clubs and national teams from current football events.
