Adidas Roma Deal to be Cancelled? New Balance Take Roma to Court

New Balance have taken AS Roma to court over the club's new Adidas kit deal, seeking the cancellation of the Adidas deal and a one year extension of their own contract.

New Balance Take Roma to Court

It is common knowledge by now that Roma and Adidas have a kit deal in place for next season, but news of complications emerged yesterday. New Balance opened legal proceedings with Roma over the Three Stripes deal back in June, according to Calcio e Finanza. The International Chamber of Commerce are handling the case and should New Balance win, the Adidas deal would have to be cancelled, for now at least.

New Balance's two year deal with Roma came into play at the start of the 21-22 season. They claim that a clause in the contract allows them to match any potential bids from competitors, triggering an automatic one year extension to the deal at the value of the new bid. NB say they did exactly that when Adidas made their offer and are requesting that Roma be legally obliged to extend the deal between the two parties and that the Adidas contract be annulled.

The club denied that NB matched the Adidas bid and said the American brand did not exercise their right of first refusal, requesting that the court throw out the case. They also requested compensation from New Balance for some breaches of contract regarding quality, late deliveries and selling AS Roma products in their own stores before official release dates. The court is due to make a decision by February 11th.

Possible Outcomes

If Roma win the case, their Adidas deal will commence as planned this summer. Should New Balance win, however, Roma’s Adidas contract will be cancelled and i Giallorossi will wear NB kits for the 23-24 campaign. In that case, Roma and Adidas would need to sign a new contract, which could come into play for the 24-25 season. Alternatively, Adidas may decide to walk away from the deal altogether after such complications, as they would have wasted time, money and resources on preparing everything in time ahead of next season.

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We are no legal experts here at FootyHeadlines, but if previous club vs kit manufacturer court cases are anything to go by, the “old” technical sponsor usually loses out in these legal battles, leaving the club free to proceed with their arrangements as they intended. This case will of course be decided on the evidence and defences provided by both parties, rather than any similar historical instances.

Would you like to see Roma in New Balance for one more year? Or would you prefer to see them return to Adidas later this year as planned? Comment below.