Russian men's football champions Zenit are owned by majority state-owned energy giant Gazprom and is supported by the country's authoritarian President Vladimir Putin, who has had the Olympic Order withdrawn in response to the war in Ukraine.

Gazprom and Putin have both been sanctioned by several entities since the invasion.

Zenit's kits had been produced by Nike since 2010, although the club was forced to cover up its logo after the deal was suspended by the American brand.

The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) sought an explanation from Joma's head office for Zenit using its home and away kits for next season, and the apparel company doubled down on its statement in July last year in which it said it had stopped cooperation with Russian and Belarusian clubs.

"We confirm that Joma's headquarters in Spain have stopped all our sponsorship activities with sports teams from Russia and Belarus," the UAF reported Joma's response.

"We have no direct contact - commercial or sponsorship - with any professional club there [in Russia and Belarus] and we were not aware of and have nothing to do with the launch and customisation of the new Zenit kit."

Joma explained that its logo featured on the Zenit shirt because it had been distributed by Russian online retailer Wildberries.

"It's a retailer that can source products from our catalogue on the open market, where we have no control," Joma insisted.

Russian Premier League clubs CSKA Moscow and FC Akhmat Grozn also use Joma kits.

Joma also provides Ukraine's national football team kits.

Its shirt for last year's men's FIFA World Cup qualification playoffs was the subject of a complaint from the Football Union of Russia (RFU) for including Crimea on an outline of Ukraine's borders.

The Crimean region was annexed by Russia in 2014, although its status is disputed, with the majority of the international community still deeming it part of Ukraine.

The RFU had also complained to UEFA over Ukraine's proposed kit at the delayed men's 2020 European Championship over the inclusion of the Crimean peninsula on the shirts.

The UAF were not required to alter the borders on their shirts for the tournament, but were ordered to remove a phrase from the collar which read "glory to the heroes" on the basis of its "historic and militaristic significance".

German company Adidas had supplied Russia's national teams' kits since 2008, but terminated its agreement due to the war in Ukraine.