What will adidas do with the Russian national team?

After the decision arrived yesterday afternoon where FIFA confirmed that it will suspend all Russian clubs and the national team from all competitions, one wonders what adidas will decide to do with the Russian national team. The three stripes have been the national team's technical sponsor since 2009, but in the light of recent events, the German brand, which two years ago extended its contract until 2022, may be backtracking. The brand has (rightly) waited for FIFA, or in any case the highest sporting bodies, to give their opinion before making any decisions. In the face of the now declared exclusion from the World Cup, which will take place in less than 9 months in Qatar, adidas could take the opportunity to move away from Russia, given the pressure of Poland and Sweden (always sponsored by adidas) who have expressed the desire not to take the field if they were to face the Russian national team. 

In 2019, the colours of the sleeves infuriated the government and the federation, who together decided that the national team should never wear that shirt. The matter ended with a heartfelt apology from the German brand, but nevertheless those jerseys then ended up on sale, creating a twist in the relationship. What led the federation and then the government to take this drastic decision and have the national team play with the old technical material were precisely the colours used in the sleeves, which were reversed with respect to the national flag. Who knows now, after the latest events and the unjustified attack on Ukraine, what adidas will decide to do, whether to put an end to the relationship for good or continue despite everything.