Premier League vote down front-of-the-shirt betting sponsors

13/04/2023 71comments  |  Jump to last

Updated The current member clubs of England's top flight voted today on a voluntary ban on gambling companies being prominently displayed as shirt sponsors.

18 of the Premier League's 20 clubs voluntarily agreed to remove betting entities from the front of their shirts, with two clubs abstaining, while reaching a compromise of retaining them as sleeve sponsors, ahead of a new government white paper on betting legislation that may affect football.

The ban agreed by the clubs will come into effect by the end of the 2026-27 season to allow current agreements to run their course and allow time to source new partnerships.  However, after the deadline, clubs will still be able to continue featuring gambling brands in areas such as shirt sleeves and LED advertising.

Everton are one of eight clubs who have a gambling firm as their primary sponsor in the form of Stake.com, having previously expressed reservations about their sponsorship by SportPesa, which was cut short a year before its planned expiry date amid the suspension of the Kenya-based outfit's license due to tax problems.  

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The Blues are thought to have been one of the clubs to have expressed reservations about the voluntary ban due to the lucrative nature of sponsorships from betting firms. Everton have long struggled to find suitably generous sponsors and lost major deals with USM Holdings and Megafon when Russian Oligarch Alisher Usmanov was added to the sanctions list shortly after the start of Vladimir Putin's abhorrent war on Ukraine.

 

Reader Comments (71)

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Alan J Thompson
1 Posted 30/03/2023 at 16:08:36
You can put money on gambling being banned altogether as soon as they stop hitting horses with those make believe whips which, apparently, are a matter of the riders health and safety.
Duncan McDine
2 Posted 30/03/2023 at 16:25:51
Top comment Alan. Love it! What odds are you offering on a blanket ban for betting? On a serious note, we all know someone who’s life has gone down the shitter due to their betting… so at the very least, I’d encourage the advertising of betting to be heavily restricted.
Barry Hesketh
3 Posted 30/03/2023 at 18:01:37
Well it seems the Premier League are going all in, by attempting to show the Government that it's taking everything really seriously, I haven't had time to read much about what they're intending to do, but a couple of snippets below by way of example.

The league's moves to strengthen its test come at a time when a Government white paper on football governance is proposing that a new independent regulator would set an “enhanced” owners' and directors' test, which would be intended to replace the tests used by the Premier League, the Football Association and the EFL.

Decisions taken by the Premier League board under the new OADT will now be subject to review by a new, independent oversight panel.

Under the new rules approved by clubs on Thursday, a person or a company being subject to Government sanctions is now also a disqualifying event, while the range of criminal offences which could result in disqualification has been extended to include offences involving violence, corruption, fraud, tax evasion and hate crimes.

Fit and Proper

Geoff Lambert
4 Posted 30/03/2023 at 18:29:20
Sky sports will go out of business.
Billy Roberts
5 Posted 30/03/2023 at 18:45:07
Speak for yourself, Duncan @ 2.

I am 53, I have worked with, are related to, are friends with, or simply know loads of people who bet whose lives haven't gone down the shitter.

Do you think I am an exception to the rule?

Dave Lynch
6 Posted 30/03/2023 at 19:01:31
I see the Premier League (or is it the FA?) have clamped down on clubs being owned by human rights abusers.

Wonder if Newcastle Utd will fall foul of this... and is this an underhand way of preserving the current perceived Top 6 hierarchy?

Jim Lloyd
7 Posted 30/03/2023 at 21:12:39
I think it's very much an easy form of gambling advertising to ban. If the Premier League are so morally upright, why are they taking mega billions off the betting companies on Sky? A bit of skewed logic there, I think.
Brian Wilkinson
8 Posted 31/03/2023 at 01:23:42
Bupa should look into sponsoring Everton, think of all the publicity and adverts they could run down at the Finch Farm sick bay.
Ernie Baywood
9 Posted 31/03/2023 at 07:36:59
Did anyone ever develop a betting problem because of a shirt sponsor?

I've never interacted with Danka, Hafnia, SportPesa, or Stake.

I did make a point of drinking Chang in Thailand. And I don't drink Carlsberg ever. So I suppose they have some impact.

It's probably not that big a deal.

Andy McNabb
10 Posted 31/03/2023 at 07:46:16
Well said, Billy Roberts. This is a cancer in our society and those who make light of it are either ignorant of the damage it does, or simply choose to ignore the devastating consequences.

You belong back in the 1970s with those who objected to the removal of tobacco advertising in sport.

Danny O’Neill
11 Posted 31/03/2023 at 08:03:44
Ernie, I am prone to being tempted by a bacon sandwich too often.

I think people will gamble and have done way before the apparent influence of football shirt sponsors.

The advent of online Apps has made it more easy and when I'm not at the match, watching football in a local, I do see groups of young lads obsessed with their phones and their accumulators. It's hard to gauge who they support because they are more interested in the results coming in to match their bet.

Me, I occasionally put a pound on the odd horse and even then it's really only the main events such as Aintree, Cheltenham and Ascot. I base my theory on the Jockey's name, the horses name or the colours. That's as scientific as I get.

I think like most vices, everything in moderation. If you go too far, I don't think you can blame a logo on a football shirt. It's like removing alcohol related sponsorship from kids shirts. Why? When I was 7, I wasn't interested in alcohol and if I wanted influencing on match day or elsewhere, I only had to look at the adults whilst I sat with my bottle of coke.

How many Angry Bird addicts are there amongst the Evertonian brethren?

I'm sure some will feel strongly, but I think this is a bit over the top.

Geoff @4. Good point. If this is sanctioned, will Sky do the honourable thing and scrap their Sky Bet application?

Duncan McDine
12 Posted 31/03/2023 at 11:57:07
Billy - did I say that everyone who likes a bet ends up in the gutter? Nope! The majority of people, the likes of you and I, bet in moderation, but if you don’t know anyone that has/had a gambling problem, then you’re in the minority (or are just unaware that someone you know has a problem).

Gambling, drinking, smoking, even energy drinks- they’re all addictive and bad for us both mentally and physically, but over the years these companies have been allowed to advertise to sports fans and influence young, impressionable minds. Anyone that denies the strength in which advertising affects our buying habits and behaviour on a daily basis needs a reality check.

Keith Gleave
13 Posted 31/03/2023 at 13:15:36
Personally, I think shirt sponsorship by betting companies is only a minor part of gambling addiction. The ability to go online 24 hours a day is the major problem.
Deal with the substantive problem, don't tinker around the edges.
David West
14 Posted 31/03/2023 at 17:45:44
It's gone too far now with the sports betting. It's not just football. It's gambling in general. It shouldn't be anywhere near football shirts, arms grounds or websites.
It should be banned from advertising before watershed times. I'm sick of the ads for betting firms, casino sites, bingo sites, etc. Kids shouldn't be exposed to it.
I like a bet now and again, football, horses & boxing but I can take it or leave it. I know people who cant walk past a bookies without throwing all their weekly wage away. The online sites are vultures. Praying on people.

I read about a guy who lost everything his house repossessed, 50 - 60k debts with credit cards. He took his own life. His family accessed his emails and found because he'd been inactive on betting sites, there were thousands of emails from all the betting sites, they were still sending him free bets and offers 6 months later.

But if you are going to ban them, what about alcohol ads ? We know what damage that causes yet still our kids are watching these slick ads offering something that kids don't understand.

Common sense.

Barry Hesketh
15 Posted 31/03/2023 at 18:04:26
I just wish they'd ban front-of-shirt advertising, full stop.
David Nicholls
16 Posted 01/04/2023 at 06:31:25
Spot on Barry. With all the money in the game, is it really necessary to have shirt sponsorship?
Imagine our iconic royal blue shirt unsullied by sponsoring.
Danny O’Neill
17 Posted 01/04/2023 at 06:48:03
I wouldn't be against removing shirt sponsorship.

And as a side discussion, the badge.

I know many got emotive when we had that Nike contortion a few years back, but we've always changed the badge or crest worn on the shirt worn over the years. It doesn't change the badge of the club.

How about no sponsor and a more traditional and simple EFC at a diagonal slant on the chest? We know who we are and don't need a badge to tell us.

Just a thought. I know it's unrealistic given the need for sponsorship and revenue in the modern game.

Danny Baily
18 Posted 01/04/2023 at 07:38:16
Danny 17, I'd love to see us use the 'heritage' crest across the board, or at least more widely. I think it looks great, a bit like the Yankees logo.

Happy with shirt sponsors as they will surely be a major source of revenue. It's good to hear there's a consensus around banning gambling companies.

Billy Roberts
19 Posted 01/04/2023 at 12:02:44
Andy @10
You definitely belong in this decade.
An age where a polite alternative view is treated like a horrific offence.
I didn't comment on the damage it can cause merely the number of people it afflicts.
I believe Cancer is a real Cancer in our society and you should reserve the use of the word sparingly.
You are displaying an ignorance of a disease that I can say with confidence will effect everybody.
Paul Tran
20 Posted 01/04/2023 at 12:15:47
I like gambling. I take it semi-seriously and make a few quid out of it (I keep records). Following Everton from wherever I lived in the UK used to cost me a fortune. What was the most damaging addiction?

I support this planned ban. These 'new' betting companies prey on gullible punters with their apps and spurious offers. It is a poor look to have clubs linked with these firms, especially if a club like ours sells itself as a source of good to the community.

People will always gamble and most of them will enjoy it without harming themselves and their loved ones. But I draw the line at multi-million pound businesses rushing to the feet of spurious bookies for 'much-needed' income.

Danny O’Neill
21 Posted 01/04/2023 at 12:28:45
Everton is an addiction Paul and I try not to look at how much they cost me.

You're right though, all in moderation.

I've seen friends become addicted to the fruit machines in pubs. The joy on their face when they land the jackpot, but I always think to myself, how much did they put in to get that out? Break even at best?

Although it has always been there, the days of studying the daily newspaper, marking a few horses and a quick trip to the bookies are all but gone.

It's now at the fingertips of young people on their phone, who can bet in an instant.

I don't bet regularly and certainly not on football. But I guarantee I'll be sat next to a group of lads today more interested in how their accumulator is doing than watching the match.

Paul Hewitt
22 Posted 01/04/2023 at 12:32:06
Nanny state.
Billy Roberts
23 Posted 01/04/2023 at 12:41:44
Duncan @12
Did I say you said that? Nope ( in your lingo).
I think you know full well what I was saying, I was questioning your assertion that we ALL know someone who's life has " gone down the shitter" through gambling.
There are currently 67 million people in this country.
If you have some accurate figures to reflect what you believe ?feel free to make your point.
If you feel like I am in the minority, I can accept that but it isn't what you stated is it?
Nick White
24 Posted 01/04/2023 at 16:24:43
I would scrap all sponsorship in shirts.. I would have fans select the kit, keep it as is.. including the away.. I would allow young Everton fans to design the third kit each year and be done.. Tradition can be considered boring but also lucrative. Ala the Green Bay Packers.. not a shirt sponsor in sight.. every tom, dick and harry have a packers shirt in the US Everton need to accept and have the backbone to stay with tradition instead of trying to constantly reinvent themselves like those around them.. Maybe they could have a sponsorship kit they wear for the Derby something that benefits the community of Liverpool….. be better Everton..
Duncan McDine
25 Posted 02/04/2023 at 10:46:00
Yes, I believe that you’re in the minority Billy. No stats I’m afraid - I’ll assume you don’t have any either, so we’ll agree to disagree on this subject.
Charles Brewer
26 Posted 03/04/2023 at 13:15:00
The trouble with this kind of virtue signalling drivel is that it makes virtually no difference.

Personally, I never gamble. I have an interest in statistics, and understand that the House invariably wins in either the short term or the medium term. I've been to a few racing meets and while I enjoyed the horses running and regarded putting a bet on each race I managed to go through the card twice without a single payout. I regard betting as part of the entrance fee, and while it raises the level of fun, it is not something I expect to make any return on and something I have no interest in or get any pleasure from.

However, I understand that many people really enjoy gambling, and I am in favour of people enjoying themselves. Like alcohol, just because a few people get into trouble and cannot control themselves does not seem to me to be any argument for banning the majority of the population from doing something they enjoy.

The alternative - as the puritanical idiots who periodically get some say in the USA demonstrated with prohibition and banning off course gambling - is that criminal gangs will offer something people want, but they bring violence and serious criminal behaviour with it. Would anyone in their right mind prefer Al Capone, Joe Kennedy and Bugsy Siegel to the local pub, Rishi Sunak and William Hill?

As far as I can see, advertising one method of legal gambling is intended to get punters to use that channel rather than another - it's a choice between Betfred and Paddy Power. All the proposal does is to deprive certain less well off football teams of some revenue.

John Keating
27 Posted 13/04/2023 at 13:46:34
Let’s ban everything
Someone somewhere in the world has a problem with, dislikes, hates something so let’s just ban it.
Absolute nonsense.
Ban tobacco advertising, does everyone stop smoking
Ban alcohol advertising, does everyone stop drinking
It’s endless
People will still bet. The telly adverts are either betting or pure bloody cremations!
Paul Hewitt
28 Posted 13/04/2023 at 13:50:25
John I agree, it's ridiculous. Let's ban car adverts, thousands are killed each year in them.
Peter Carpenter
29 Posted 13/04/2023 at 13:53:34
Banned on the front but not on the sleeve? What a load of bollocks!
Derek Knox
30 Posted 13/04/2023 at 13:55:27
Having read most of the comments above, and it seems the majority are of one mind. Gambling is, or can be a vice, as is Drinking, Gaming, Eating (Binges) etc, and mostly addictive if it is let out of control. We probably all do the Lottery in search of that elusive big win. No matter how you sugar-coat it, it is still Gambling. An occasional flutter doesn't constitute addiction, which the same can be said for anything really if done in moderation it is a bit of fun etc.

The bit that really pisses me off, we as Fans have had NO say in Shirt Sponsorship, or Transfers or Contracts etc, yet we are the ones to suffer from any ban, through no fault of our own. If we were to get relegated (God Forbid) again it would be us as fans again who would feel the biggest impact.

Barry Hesketh
31 Posted 13/04/2023 at 14:00:59
Does this mean that SkyBet goes out of business? Will it prevent Sky Sports News using gambling terms to forecast the possible results of future fixtures? No of course it doesn't, what it does mean is that those clubs who currently have Gambling firms emblazoned on their shirts will have to fight even harder to attract sponsors, which means they will likely get less money in future deals.

Eight of the current Premier League clubs have betting sponsors on their shirts, none of the so called elite clubs do, I wonder who this benefits?

If I had my way, betting on football would be banned completely, but that isn't going to happen, there's far too much money to be made.


Paul Hewitt
32 Posted 13/04/2023 at 14:11:14
Barry what would you allow on shirts then.?
Barry Hesketh
33 Posted 13/04/2023 at 14:17:35
Paul @32
Not sure why you want me to decide what goes on the shirts, my point is that gambling will continue to be legal, football matches will still be wagered on, therefore, the lack of betting firms on front of shirts is pure tokenism and nothing more.
Derek Knox
34 Posted 13/04/2023 at 14:32:26
If we got a late Sponsor from Viagra, would that keep us up ? :-)
Christy Ring
35 Posted 13/04/2023 at 14:39:04
I'm not a betting man myself, horse racing is a sport I detest, actually it's not a sport, it's a multi-million buisness, where the top stables decide whether or not they want there horse to win or just have a run out in a race, Cheltenham is probably the only meeting where every one is out to win. Betting shops will still be open, taking betting companies off jerseys, is going to make no difference, it'll lose massive revenue for clubs, but will it stop people betting on different sports, NO in my opinion. Will they still be advertising on TV channels, will we still have different brewery's sponsoring different sports, Yes?
James Hughes
36 Posted 13/04/2023 at 14:55:25
You can't ban betting on anything it's just human nature.

It didn't work before and that is why the Govt. had to introduce high street bookies because it was all backstreet and crooks. Just like all those years ago with prohibition all it did was put money in the wrong pockets. Banning something does not eradicate the issue.

The downside is some of the online firms have been proven to even bigger crooks. They allow people easy access to credit

Mick O'Malley
37 Posted 13/04/2023 at 15:07:40
Charles at 26, I couldn’t agree more, I like a little flutter now and then but I can take it or leave it, I understand that some get addicted and it can completely ruin their lives but if it was banned it would definitely drive it underground, as for banning it from the front of shirts I struggle to see how that will help, it’s advertised everywhere nowadays, I definitely think something should be done about online casinos, there were a few horror stories on the news this morning about the debt some people have gotten into, losing everything,and taking loans out they will never be able to pay back,
Mike Owen
38 Posted 13/04/2023 at 15:19:52
I think one thing being forgotten/overlooked here is that the name of a gambling company on a shirt is only one part of these deals.

They also seem to involve space on the club website, with a link to the gambling company. A few clicks and away you go. you can be in a virtual casino, or betting on almost any sport you care to name. And your football club seems, by its very association with this, to give the activity of gambling your money a seal of approval.

Everton have had umpteen betting partners over the last 20 years or so. I am sure somebody at the club could tell us exactly how many such deals the club has had.

And I guess the club also has stats on how many Evertonians have clicked on official club website links to these "gambling partners"; and perhaps also how many email addresses of Evertonians these "gambling partners" may have gained this way. Where did all this lead? I don't know. But I do think that if EFC wishes to be known as a community club that cares about its supporters, it shouldn't be involved in this.

The charity, Gambling With Lives, estimates there are every year in this country more than 400 gambling-related suicides.
Home - gamblingwithlives.org

I used to enjoy having a regular bet on the Saturday afternoon football programme. I still do occasionally. But my enthusiasm for that has largely gone because of the greed and cynicism of the gambling companies.

With the huge publicity in recent years about the social harm caused by gambling, I have been very disappointed that Everton should persist in entering into deals with betting firms.

And, finally, having the names of gambling firms on the front of the team's shirts doesn't seem to have brought us much luck either.

Si Cooper
39 Posted 13/04/2023 at 15:56:37
Most ‘prohibitions’ are actually intended to protect the vulnerable, not your average ‘joe’, as most sensible people can self-regulate their participation in such things.
Unfortunately there is the possibility that potentially risky shirt sponsors become ‘legitimised’ by their association with familiar sporting ventures.
On balance, I’d say if you won’t actually shut the sponsor down then their money should be acceptable. Let them market themselves, but be relentless in exposing any harm they do cause.
Dale Self
40 Posted 13/04/2023 at 16:42:13
The PL likely has view to the research out there and is probably signalling that a voluntary move might stave off outright regulation. They don’t want to be defending gambling sponsorships while having more serious financial matters reviewed by MPs.

Good eye Peter. And as for our situation it is just about the club’s association with the product/service sponsor. Surely we could do better

Alan J Thompson
41 Posted 13/04/2023 at 17:31:47
This will be another deduction from P&S and at this rate we will be in profit in no time at all.
Paul Thomas
42 Posted 13/04/2023 at 17:57:44
Personally, I would much rather see a reduction in gambling advertisements on the Sky and BT Sports channels, than on football shirts. I think these are far more damaging and influential to the young target audience they are aimed at.

It does also seem that the clubs most effected by this reduction in revenue will be teams in the lower half in the table. This won't impact the Sky 6.

I hope the board pull there finger out and get ahead of the curve and secure a good deal going forward as we will be competing with eight other clubs for a decent alternative.
I won't hold my breath.

Danny O’Neill
43 Posted 13/04/2023 at 18:29:02
Token effort.

Applicable only to the Premier League, not the Championship or below.

Advertising boards can still display betting logos.

Betting companies can still be secondary sleeve sponsors.

Seems a bit of another "be seen to be doing something" fudge, when the reality it will still be there for people to see.

Do we have to cover up the hoardings on Ladbrokes on the high streets?

I don't recall buying Hafnia bacon. I never owned any NEC products. I don't know what Danka actually done. One-to-One on Everton's shirt didn't influence my choice of mobile phone company. I only drank warm Chang because it was what was on offer in Goodison.

Honestly. What will be the next target?

Andy Crooks
44 Posted 13/04/2023 at 19:18:38
Paul Hewitt,I agree. I know a lot more about gambling, particularly horse racing, than I do about anything else. Bookies shops are no longer the communal space they used to be, where punters could have a bet and watch the race with a cup of tea. There is so much going on now in a betting shop. Machines, virtual racing and racing from every corner of the world, much of it shite.
It is cynical exercise in relieving punters of their money. That is were regulation must start. Banning shirt adverts is pointless, ludicrous and virtue signalling at it's worst. No government that endorses a National Lottery can be pious about gambling. Addiction comes in many forms so where does this censorship end?
Tony Abrahams
45 Posted 13/04/2023 at 20:09:00
I often go into a bookies in town Andy, and it’s often empty except for a few people playing the roulette machines. The staff look bored but say it’s only those machines that are keeping them employed. My mate lost an absolute fortune and kept telling me all the numbers on the roulette machine add up to 666?

Just turn into the devil yourself then, go in your local bookies, turn the machine upside down, and smash it to pieces, is what I used to advise him to do, but his addiction was to strong unfortunately.

Brendan McLaughlin
46 Posted 13/04/2023 at 20:22:10
Andy#44

Bookies in Belfast that serve tea...BT9?

Danny O’Neill
47 Posted 13/04/2023 at 20:31:43
I see those people Tony. Fooling themselves on the fruit machines thinking they have a pay out when you wonder how much they have put in. My opinion, for what it's worth, that is one of the worst for low earners.

Life is about individual choices for me. I know some people are more susceptible and vulnerable than others and additions are easier criticised rather than explained and understood.

I'm addicted to Everton and football. I'm not sure there is a cure for me.

And I don't mean to play the seriousness of the subject down.

Rob Halligan
48 Posted 13/04/2023 at 21:40:31
Remove betting companies names from the front of shirts by all means, but it won't make a blind bit of difference. People who are addicted to betting will still go into a betting shop and spend a fortune, gambling on horses, football or two flies racing down a wall.

The names of alcoholic drinks have been removed from shirts, yet there hasn't been a reduction in the number of people who are addicted to drink, or people who drink just to socialise. Pubs are still ram packed at a weekend, especially for a game. Every pub down County Road is choc-a-block, before and after a game, and does anyone think the licensee cares clubs are no longer allowed to have a drinks name on the shirts?

Of course not, just the same as a betting shop licensee won't care. I don't bet…..FFS, I even forgot the Aintree meeting started today, but I doubt very much I would have turned into a compulsive gambler if I had this season's shirt, or anything with the name Stake.com on it!

Just by the same reasoning that I haven't packed in having a pint, just because Chang was removed.

Tony Abrahams
49 Posted 13/04/2023 at 21:43:51
I used to be addicted to football, Danny, but unless I'm actually going to a game, then I'm not that bothered about watching it anymore.

My addiction has waned badly, but I still love going to Goodison Park, and I'm sure there will come a time when I will get back on the road with the fastest-moving light infantry this country has got to offer!!

Ian Bennett
50 Posted 13/04/2023 at 21:47:05
Are they banning adverts during football pre, halftime, after, pitch side hoardings etc.

Are they banning offers on drawing people in?

Andy Crooks
51 Posted 13/04/2023 at 22:13:51
My God, Brendan, not BT 9!! No, just some friendly staff who see a few punters and offer them tea in a plastic cup. MacLeans used to have a decent machine that did a chicken soup that was almost palatable. A group of old guys( shit I probably qualify) used to come in and bring sandwiches with the tea and soup. None of them bet on anything which pissed off the manager. Boylesport will offer some punters tea too.
Actually, you've got me thinking; do you remember the legendary awful punter Terry Ramsden? Bookies treated him like royalty while they helped him to the poor house. I guess I might be a budget version of him.
Meant to ask you Brendan, if Lyndon passed my email to you.
Maybe catch up for a beer. If not sure I'll send it again.
Danny,you're right about machines. Seen a guy playing three at once the other day, he was,almost in an hypnotic state. They are actually physically addictive and require zero intellectual input. Addressing problem gambling by banning shirt sponsorship is pathetic beyond belief.

Danny O’Neill
52 Posted 14/04/2023 at 07:47:55
As you make a military reference Tony, navigation of the rail network, especially this season has often required applying the principle of "improvise, adapt and overcome".

Back to gambling and sponsorship. I was watching the very early BBC News on the subject this morning. Classic contradictory BBC reporting.

On the Premier League shirt sponsorship, interviewing some character complaining it hadn't gone far enough. Okay, everyone is entitled to their view and opinion.

Next report, marvelling about the Grand National and putting a positive spin on how much punters will be placing on bets over the weekend.

James Marshall
53 Posted 14/04/2023 at 12:13:25
Of course sponsorship and advertising have an effect - people on here saying otherwise are out of their minds.

You & I might not be, but a lot of us on here are pretty long in the tooth (I'm 50 in August) so we're likely less influenced. But younger people are hugely influenced by things like sponsorship on shirts. Betting companies should not be allowed in my view - same with beer companies and McDonald's sponsoring everything FIFA is also a joke.

Sport should influence young people in a positive manner, so betting, fast food, alcohol etc should not be allowed in my view.

It's not even a moot point in truth.

Mark Wynne
54 Posted 14/04/2023 at 14:23:14
Since it is specifically matchday shirts, it doesn’t stop training gear, or even the stadium rights being sponsored by betting firms. There will be ways around it. TV ads around games are already full of live odds and you can be sure Sky will have their own interests covered. The Premier League cash cow of course wants to “look” as though they are against betting or booze advertising, but they won’t let little things like morals or human rights get in the way of them milking their product. They will find a way no doubt.
Billy Roberts
55 Posted 14/04/2023 at 20:25:48
James @53,

I have to say you have taken this theme to a ludicrous level with your idea of banning fast foods.

Would you class Nandos as a fast food? What about Pizza?
Is Pizza Express on your banned list or just Dominoes because they do a thick crust?

Did you even think through this idea before posting?

So the club can't advertise Greggs on their shirts but can sell Sayer's sausage rolls to 11-year-olds? In the ground right, under the noses of the Police.

Would Subway salads be banned??

Jim Lloyd
56 Posted 15/04/2023 at 09:25:24
Well, advertising isn't done for humanitarian reasons and I seem to remember reading somewhere, that Coca Cola seemingly, once had cocaine in it.
As for betting, how much does football make off Sky, who advertise betting inh a much more seductive way than it being stuck on the front of a shirt. Gambling advertising is rampant on daytime (and night time) TV, aimed home audiences, either in Bingo or Racing with online betting and even most Charities are at it, and the National Lottery. To me, for the clubs to ban it on shirts is very noble, but will have the same effect as that kid who stuck his finger in the dyke.
James Marshall
57 Posted 15/04/2023 at 10:15:05
Billy@55

Yep. Sport is about health & fitness and should promote these things, not using companies who themselves promote obesity, laziness, ill health, animal cruelty, and destruction of the planet for financial gain. Nandos, Greggs, McDonald's, Burger King all fall into that category. And if you think pizza is good for you, well, it isn't.

I guarantee you, footballers live under a very closely monitored diet & fitness regime which does not include these foods as being OK to eat. Betting is also frowned upon, in case you weren't aware.

I absolutely thought that through before posting.

Billy Roberts
58 Posted 15/04/2023 at 15:15:26
James @54
Pizza isn't healthy??? I thought it was because its got tomatoes and stuff on it and Greggs cheese pasties are they not as well...I thought cheese was good for you, thanks for the nutritional advice there.
Betting is frowned upon eh Great comic timing there James on the eve of the world's biggest horse race.
Pretty sure you would always find Everton or Liverpool players at Aintree if their match was over or the next day.
Football isn't there to sort all of society's ills...we have governments for that type of thing.
So would you object to Heinz sponsoring Everton or Cadbuurys.?
Robert Tressell
59 Posted 15/04/2023 at 21:46:20
Allardyce is a savvy manager but he had an opportunity to showcase his ability to manage us longer term and completely blew it. Football was atrocious with a reasonable squad – to which he added Walcott and Tosun at great expense and very little return.

Sacking Allardyce isn't our problem, our problem is the utterly thick way we've gone about recruitment since Moshiri took over – leading to the pitifully bad squad we now have.

Dyche came in when we were nailed on to finish bottom because we just couldn't score a goal – or even barely have a shot. And unlike the £50M Allardyce got to "improve" the squad, Dyche got nothing while Forest, Bournemouth, Saints, etc etc all spent heavily.

He's got a crap team scoring goals and we were unlucky not to go in ahead at half-time. Had we done that, we'd have won. Fine margins.

James Marshall
60 Posted 17/04/2023 at 10:33:45
Billy - don't get me started on the cruelty of horse racing!

FWIW - I was a professional gambler for 18 months at one time in my life (about 10 years ago) and it's both stressful and a risky way to live. Pays well if you're good at it, but ultimately damaging.

And no, pizza & cheese are not good for you.

I'll reiterate it one last time - sport should be sponsored by companies that reflect health & wellbeing in my view. There endeth my input on this :-)

Rob Halligan
61 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:01:36
James, good point about the cruelty of horse racing, particularly the grand national. So apparently it’s not good to have the name of a betting firm on the front of a shirt, but it’s ok for innocent horses to potentially be put at risk of serious injury, and ultimately death. Talking in the brick before and after the game on Saturday, and my mate was saying that if horses didn’t want to jump those ridiculously high fences, they wouldn’t do it. They have no choice in the matter. I for one, would ban the national, an event I’ve never been to by the way, or at least vastly reduce the height of those fences. Those animal rights protestors were well within their rights to cause as much havoc as possible prior to the race.
Paul Hewitt
62 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:10:42
Rob if them horses didn't want to jump them fences they wouldn't.
Steve Brown
63 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:19:55
Paul, if you got whipped on the arse you might jump as well!
Dave Lynch
64 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:23:05
Let's be super dooper Animal rights shall we?

We can ban Pidgeon racing as well as Greyhound racing, fishing, pheasant shoots and numerous other sports as well.
Only one I don't like is fox hunting as the intended animal is run into the ground scared shitless and torn limb from limb.
As for gambling... I like a bet now and again, why should I be denied that because some become addicted?
Food...I like a pizza every so often, as well as a Greggs or a Subway, why should I be denied that because some people cant stop stuffing their face and become obese.
Everything is bad for you in excess, especially alcohol, so lets ban that as well.

John Cook
65 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:25:29
Nanny state Dave
Paul Hewitt
66 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:32:08
Steve@63. I've seen horses unseat it rider and still carry on jumping fences. No whipping there.
Steve Brown
67 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:37:32
Maybe they were expecting a bag of oats at the finish line Paul.
Dave Lynch
68 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:42:18
To right John.
Minorities who think they know what's best for everyone.
You take charge of your own life and actions, if your not happy with an element of your life then change it.

I did it recently when as a nurse I was told I could not strike by my union as the vote went against strike action.

I immediately left the union and walked out on strike.

Rob Halligan
69 Posted 17/04/2023 at 11:44:54
Paul, I’m assuming that race horses are trained every day to run four miles in eight minutes, and jump a fence in front of them, so when a horse unseats the jockey, I guess it’s natural instinct for the horse to carry on running and jump fences. Horses, unlike us, don’t know there are chances, albeit very slim ones, of serious injury when jumping. There are plenty of extreme sports where the participants know of the danger. Horses don’t have that luxury. Maybe banning the national is a bit harsh, but certainly reduce the height of some of the fences.
Billy Roberts
70 Posted 18/04/2023 at 18:25:37
James @60,

Thanks for your decent reply.

Pizzas and cheese are good for you. They are nutritious food.
All in moderation, James – just like gambling, ale, chocolate etc.

John Burns
71 Posted 18/04/2023 at 19:01:42
James (60).

The reality of marketing is companies target the demographic that buys their product. The predominantly male profile that watches football also bets, drinks etc. Football consumers also purchase these products.

We (football fans) don't tend to go big on yoghurt and other health products. Hence, healthy living companies won't be the big-hitting advertisers for football. It's not going to happen, James.


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