June 17, Pozirk. The state-run STV channel has taken today’s Euro 2024 match between Ukraine and Romania off the air.
The move comes amid tension between Belarus and Kyiv after Minsk provided territory and infrastructure for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and days after Romania banned Belarusian and Russian MPs from participating in an annual session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly scheduled to take place from June 29 to July 3 in Bucharest.
At 4 p.m., when the game started, STV aired an episode of the Russian detective series “Chingachgook” instead.
International competitions are usually broadcast by Belarus 5, a sports channel run by the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company (BSTRC). Since the BSTRC is under Switzerland’s sanctions, UEFA awarded the broadcast license to STV.
In the evening of June 13, STV announced that it would broadcast all Euro 2024 games live, directly and through its affiliate RTR-Belarus, but has not delivered on its promise.
