Russian TV keeps pulling broadcasts of soccer games in Europe off air when fans display anti-war messages

• Russian broadcaster Match TV has cut a number of European soccer matches after anti-war messages at stadiums.
• It prematurely ended two broadcasts of the German Bundesliga after pitch-side ads showed a "Stop War" message.

Russian television channel Match TV has several times cut broadcasts of European soccer matches when there are anti-war demonstrations, footage posted on social media shows.

Over the weekend of April 2 and 3, two German Bundesliga matches were taken off-air mid-match after messages condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine were displayed on pitch-side advertising boards, Andrew Todos of Zorya Londonsk, a website focused on English-language coverage of Ukrainian soccer, told Insider.

Todos and others had previously posted footage of the incidents to Twitter. Several of the clips have since been removed after copyright claims by Match.

According to Todos, Match TV first cut its broadcast of Borussia Dortmund vs. RB Leipzig on Saturday before doing the same again for its showing of Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Mainz on Sunday.

The words "Stop War" had been displayed on advertising boards at the side of the pitches at both matches.

"They instantly switched to just videos of the crowd whilst an attack was ongoing to prevent people seeing that Stop War sign, and then did the same during the replay of the chance," Todos said of Sunday's game at the Borussia-Park.

Footage posted on Twitter, which has since been removed, confirms Todos' assertion.

The broadcast was then ended in the ninth minute, he said.

During the Dortmund vs. Leipzig game, Match's commentators ended the broadcast by saying: "Unfortunately, we must interrupt our broadcast for reasons beyond our control. It's generally accepted that soccer is out of politics, but this rule is not respected by the Bundesliga."

The removal of the Dortmund vs. Leipzig game was also reported by Serbian media outlet Telegraf.

Match TV did the same during its broadcast of West Ham United versus Sevilla in the Europa League on March 17, Todos added, saying the channel ended its stream after Ukrainian player Andriy Yarmolenko entered the pitch as a substitute. Yarmolenko's entry prompted fans in the stands to wave Ukrainian flags and hold aloft anti-war messages.

He also said the channel stopped airing a match between Sweden and the Czech Republic on March 24.

Match TV, Russia's main sports broadcaster is owned by Gazprom Media, a subsidiary of Russia's state-owned energy company, Gazprom.

"This is just latest in media suppression. There is no free media left in Russia," Todos said.

Following the invasion of Ukraine in late February, the English Premier League suspended its broadcast deals in Russia, meaning its matches can no longer be shown in the country.

The English top flight also donated £1 million ($1.3 million) to support the people of Ukraine.

"We call for peace and our thoughts are with all those impacted," the Premier League said in a statement.

"The £1 million donation will be made to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to deliver humanitarian aid directly to those in need."

The English Football League and the Football Association also ended their broadcast deals in Russia, however other organisations within the European game are yet to follow suit.

UEFA still has a contract with Match TV to show the Champions League in the region, as does the Bundesliga.