F1 announced last week that it had terminated the contract with the Russian Grand Prix and would not race in the country again, while Russian driver Nikita Mazepin lost his seat at Haas ahead of the new 2022 season.
Earlier this week, the Premier League , England’s football league, made the decision to suspend its broadcast deals in that territory, depriving fans of watching matches in a series of sporting sanctions around the world.
Now F1 has taken a similar move, breaking its broadcast deal with Match TV with immediate effect. The network signed its last contract in 2020, and it ran until the end of the 2023 season.
F1 TV will also become unavailable in Russia, preventing fans from subscribing to F1 streaming , and removing all legal means for them to watch this season’s grands prix in the country.
Match TV also broadcast Premier League football matches, and has the rights to the UEFA Champions League and other European competitions in Russia. According to The Times , the Spanish soccer league broadcast anti-war messages on its channels last week, but these were blocked by Russian networks.
Immediately after the start of the Russian military conflict in Ukraine and the beginning of the invasion at the end of February, F1 suspended the Sochi race before terminating his contract.
Russian Grand Prix promoter Rosgonki said there was a chance this year’s race could go ahead, but the termination of the deal also means the event will no longer be moved to Igora, outside St Petersburg, as It was scheduled for the next 2023.
Many national authorities have taken their own steps by introducing bans on athletes of those nationalities competing in sporting events under their jurisdiction.
Haas announced over the weekend that it had terminated Mazepin’s contract, as well as ending the deal with title sponsor Uralkali. In addition, the Russian and his father, Dmitry, have been sanctioned by the European Union and included in a list along with other personalities from this country.
