Five Premier League teams breaching gambling rules on shirt sponsorship
Aston Villa, Everton, Fulham, Notts Forest and Southampton refuse to sell adult kits free from gambling logos - In breach of the Premier League's code of conduct.
Last years review of gambling regulation spared Premier League clubs from any new government enforced rules that could affect their revenue from the gambling industry.
The move was designed to show that both clubs and gambling firms were acting responsibly, amid ongoing concerns about the degree to which football promotes gambling and the negative impact on vulnerable people and children.
However, research conducted by The Pitch Inspection has found 5 of the 11 Premier League clubs who have gambling logos on the front of their kits do not appear to be following the rules.
The offending clubs were Aston Villa, Everton, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Southampton.
The “code ”“requires all clubs to create mechanisms that ensure fans can purchase adult replica kits without a gambling logo emblazoned on the front of the shirt.
However, The Pitch Inspection contacted every Premier League team impacted by the new code and discovered the majority were currently falling short.
Here’s what the new code of conduct says:
3.5.2. Ensuring that mechanisms exist to enable supporters to have the ability to purchase adult replica kits that do not include gambling sponsorship logos, in the event that they are not otherwise available for purchase.
We asked each club if we could purchase an adult home, away and third kit without a sponsors logo on the shirt. Here’s what they said:
Aston Villa
“Thankyou for your email, the only shirts that do not display the sponsor are the kids. I have added the Aston Villa Website link showing the shirts”.
Brentford
Initially Brentford FC said the an unsponsored adult kit was not currently available. Here’s what that told us:
“Unfortunately we do not have unsponsored kits in at the moment, the only item we do have is last seasons away top blue - which is labelled as lifestyle on our website/instore.
“For this season if we were to have any unsponsored shirts to be sold these will be more likely sold instore only and potentially on game days in our sale Hive.
“If not we would put these online for customers to purchase.
“We apologise we could not accommodate this at the moment and hope in the near future we can help”.
Subsequently following the publication of our report, the club issued an apology for mistakenly providing incorrect information.
The club’s position is now as follows:
“We have unsponsored home kits and a limited offering of away and third kits which feature our official club partner, PensionBee on shirts. These can be purchased in-store.”
Everton
“Unfortunately, it is not possible to order a jersey without a sponsor on the front. The only exception is the jersey in children's sizes, which does not have this logo. We apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused you”.
Fulham
“Unfortunately we will not be selling the kits without sponsors. The only option is the ones with SBOTOP printed on the front”.
Nottingham Forest
“Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, we do not offer kits without the sponsor's logo on the front. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause”.
Southampton
“Unfortunately you cannot purchase a shirt without a sponsor.”
Some good news:
The Pitch Inspection also approached the club shops of Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, West Ham United and Wolves - All confirmed that you could purchase an adult kit free from a gambling sponsors logo.
The second time in a month that EPL teams have fallen short of the gambling code of conduct.
Last month, In a joint investigation by The Pitch Inspection and The Guardian, we discovered that 50% of Premier League football clubs are potentially violating the voluntary code of conduct on gambling sponsorship aimed at protecting children.
But research conducted by The Pitch Inspection has found at least 10 of the 20 Premier League clubs do not appear to be following their own rules.
The offending clubs were Aston Villa. Brentford, Chelsea, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
The Gambling Industry’s growing influence over the game.
Last month, The Pitch Inspection published ‘High Stakes - The gambling industry's choke hold on global football’. A deep dive in to football's obsession with gambling partnerships and the impact it is having on football fans.
We discovered:
During matches gambling advertisement occurs at an average of 2.8 times per broadcast minute.
The 2024/2025 EPL season will see an increase to 11 teams with gambling companies as their main front of shirt sponsor.
All twenty of the EPL teams will go into the 2024 / 2025 season linked with sponsorships or partnerships with betting companies.
Here’s what the Premier League said about the rule breaking:
A spokesperson for the Premier League said:
“The Premier League is currently working with our clubs on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in Football which was introduced at the start of this season. Within the code for football, it includes a complaints process to enable competitions and clubs to resolve any issues identified within a set timeframe, with scope for the Independent Football Ombudsman to consider a complaint not dealt with appropriately.”
Update:
22/10/24 @ 19:28 - Following publication of this article a spokesperson from Brentford FC has contacted the Pitch Inspection.
The club now have adult kits available to purchase without the gambling sponsor’s logo.
A Brentford FC spokesperson said: “We have unsponsored home kits and a limited offering of away and third kits which feature our official club partner, PensionBee on shirts. These can be purchased in-store.”
The club apologised for the error.
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