Russia's Match TV to snub Ukraine group stage at EURO 2024

According to Biełsat, citing an anonymous source, the Russians will not watch Ukraine's matches at EURO 2024. It recalls that the main Russian sports channel is Match TV, owned by the Gazprom Media conglomerate. According to people from this circle, Ukraine's matches in the group stage of the European Championship will not be shown. However, a problem will arise when Serhiy Rebrov's team reaches the subsequent rounds of EURO.

Perhaps there is a plan at the very top in case of the success of Ukraine's national team. But it hasn't been discussed at any meetings, and no one is currently saying a word about it - one of Match TV's employees reportedly told the Czerta portal.

As he added, such problems are solved on an ongoing basis. However, Russians will be able to watch the Ukrainian national team's matches if they pay for them. The streaming service Okko bought the rights to broadcast EURO 2024 matches in Germany.

Ukraine advanced to the European Championship through the playoffs. In the semifinals, they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-1), while in the finals, which took place in Wroclaw, they overcame Iceland (2-1).

Rebrov’s team was placed in Group E. The Ukrainians will play against Belgium, Slovakia, and Romania. While the team from the Benelux is the group favourite, the Ukrainians should fight for advancement to the next phase with their neighbouring teams. The first match of the Ukrainian national team will take place on Monday (June 17) at 4:00 PM GMT. The first opponent will be the Romanian team.