Chelsea’s clash in the Champions League in Lille will be broadcast live in Russia on a public television channel created following a presidential decree from Vladimir Putin.

The Premier League, EFL and FA have all suspended their broadcast contracts in Russia.

But UEFA have yet to make any changes to their TV deals following the Ukraine invasion, meaning Chelsea’s Round of 16 second leg will be shown live despite the Blues owner’s sanction. Roman Abramovich, last week.

Chelsea’s continued TV presence in Russia is a potential embarrassment for the European champions, who are trying to distance themselves from Abramovich, and will lead to questions being posed to UEFA.

Despite the banning of Russian teams from their competitions and the cancellation of their £33.5m-a-year sponsorship deal with state-owned energy company Gazprom, the competition’s European organizer continues to honor its sponsorship deals. television – a curious anomaly, especially given the ownership structure of rights holders.

All Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League matches in Russia are broadcast by Match TV, which is owned by Gazprom Media.

Young channel Match TV has beaten Premier League rights holder Rambler Media to win a three-year contract to broadcast the Champions League between 2021 and 2024, just a few years after the broadcaster was set up on Putin’s orders.

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The continued presence may be embarrassing for the club, which are trying to distance themselves from owner Roman Abramovich after he was sanctioned by the UK government.