Meanwhile, Fifa announced a temporary change to its statutes allowing foreign players based in Ukraine and Russia to suspend their contracts move elsewhere without penalty.

The 77-year-old was German Chancellor from 1998 to 2005.

Schalke 04 announced Monday it had prematurely ended its partnership with the gas giant following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a joint statement they said it was ‘not appropriate’ for the partnership to continue.

The Chinese telecoms giant has allegedly been involved in producing software that targets Uighur Muslims.