Today in conspiracy news, we bring you Canada’s National Post.  The Toronto-based daily speculates that, for some nefarious, but unstated, reason, the Canadian government “waited until the last week of the FIFA Women’s World Cup to sanction” Gazprom, which was one of the sponsors of the tournament being hosted by Canada. Not stopping there, the Post wonders “if the sanctions had been broken during the World Cup” by festooning World Cup stadiums with Gazprom banners and ads.

Apparently, they don’t have Google at the National Post. Gazprom was added June 29, 2015 to Schedule 3 of the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations. the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List. Those Canadian regulations prohibit “any person in Canada and any Canadian outside Canada to transact in, provide financing for or otherwise deal in new debt of longer than 90 days’ maturity” for any person on Schedule 3. So, no, nothing in these sanctions would affect Gazprom’s sponsorship of the Women’s World Cup.

The National Post did have the good sense to ask John Boscariol, one of Canada’s top trade lawyers, whether the sanctions had been violated by Gazprom’s sponsorship. He said

it’s unlikely any rules were broken as the measures against Gazprom are “about as soft as you can get.” Unlike those that forbid all financial transactions, the sanctions against Gazprom ban only certain loans to and from the company.

“So in some ways, I guess what you’re saying is we don’t want you to support Gazprom through financing,” Boscariol said. “But otherwise you can deal with them.”

Those of us in the U.S. can now rest easy that there is nothing, nothing at all, to detract from our women’s team’s ultimate victory in the final round!

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