Valencia Wears Kit Without Sponsor In Champions League Clash - Here Is Why
On Wednesday night, Valencia faced Atalanta away in the Champions League Round of 16 wearing a plain shirt without their usual bwin shirt sponsor. Let us find out why.
Betting Sponsors Are Forbidden In Italy
Valencia was not allowed to wear the bwin logo not because of the UEFA but because of the Italian government and its laws. Betting sponsors are not allowed in Italy.
The ban on bookmaker advertising in Italy is a recent development and was approved in 2018 by a council of Italian ministers, with the law taking effect on January 1, 2019. At the time, many clubs rebelled against the law because bookmakers represented a relevant amount of the clubs' revenues. Lazio, for example, just closed a deal with Marathon Bet in early in December 2018, before the ban came into effect.
In fact, UEFA Article 55.07 sponsorship regulation talks about the sponsorship veto due to legislation in the country where the match takes place.
The paragraph of the sponsors on shirts section also explains that advertisements are subject to the legislation of the country where the match will take place. In that case, teams can either wear a plain shirt or the logo of a special non-profit UEFA campaign on the front.
In 2018, for example, AEK played against Ajax in the Netherlands (another country that does not allow gambling sponsorships), and had to cover the sponsorship of Pame Stoixima, a Greek bookmaker.
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