- The Premier League showed solidarity with Ukraine last weekend following Russia’s invasion of the country
- There are plans for all 20 sides to take part in similar gestures when they take to the field for this weekend’s games
- China are therefore considering not showing any of the games from the English top flight
- Beijing has denounced sanctions that have been imposed by the UK and the EU against Russia and blamed the US and its allies for provoking Moscow
Chinese TV stations are refusing to show Premier League matches this weekend on government orders in protest at the clubs’ planned show of support for Ukraine.
Sportsmail revealed yesterday that pro-Ukraine and anti-war messages will be added into the international feed this weekend, in addition to the in-stadium activity promoting peace, prompting a backlash from China.
The Premier League had anticipated that their Russian broadcast rights holder Rambler Media may block out their messaging, which they had planned to use as a pretext to terminate the contract next week, but the reaction from China has come as a surprise.