Dhe Russian TV broadcaster MatchTV canceled the broadcast of the Bundesliga game between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig (1:4) last Saturday before the end of the first half. The reason for this was the pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian war of aggression messages to be seen in the stadium. “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.”
Unlike the French Ligue 1 and the English Premier League, the Bundesliga is still broadcast in Russia. The German Football League (DFL) 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. An extraordinary termination of the contract was waived so that the anti-war calls and appeals for peace from the German stadiums could continue to reach the Russian population, it said. 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.
“The DFL will carefully review 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.” The DFL intends to make a total of one million euros in donations. In the event that no more license payments are received from Russia, the DFL wants to bear the donation in full.
