Paddy Power have been in the news recently, along with various UK Football clubs including Huddersfield Town FC, after a hoax football shirt was unveiled as part of Huddersfields new kit to launch Paddy Power’s ‘Save Our Shirt Campaign’.
‘Sash-Style’ Shirt Logo Was Hoax
It was back in July, Paddy Power, the official shirt sponsor for The Terriers, ‘officially’ launched the teams new kit for 2019/20, to an angry fan base.The new shirt had a ‘sash-style’ logo emblazoned across the front of the shirt, which deemed to break regulations regarding shirt sponsorship. Fans were up in arms at the style of shirt, which was later revealed as a hoax to promote Paddy Powers ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign, giving back the shirt to players rather than brand advertising.
Breached Kit & Advertising Rules
The problem arose as the shirt was worn to play a pre-season friendly at Rochdale, the FA issued a statement confirming the kit had breached Kit and Advertising rules, a brand logo must not exceed 250 square cm on the front, the sash-style logo did more that.“ The FA has clear Kit & Advertising regulations for all club matchday kits. If we believe that any club breached these rules we will look into the matter and, if required, will take appropriate action.”Huddersfield Football Club quickly confirmed the kit was a hoax and knew the Kit would cause negative comments and reports in the media, this was the ultimate plan when launching the campaign.’The Terriers’ are not the only club to sign up to the campaign; Motherwell and Newport County are also part of the new campaign. Paddy Power hope other brands will take a leaf out of their book and ban brand logo advertising on football shirts and believe the shirt should belong to its loyal fans.Huddersfield Football Club has until the 16th August 2019 to respond to the fine.