In the matches in Austria and Czech Republic in recent weeks the Celtic players have performed wearing shirts that did not display the club’s main sponsor’s branding due to advertising restrictions in these countries. And as such restrictions edge closer to home, with the English Premier League looking at following a similar path a Celtic supporter on our sister forum Celtic Noise agrees below that Celtic should be looking at putting our own house in order by removing betting and alcohol brands from the Celtic kit.
It’s an awkward subject this one, as many Celtic fans will agree with these sentiments but also realise the harsh realities that our club operates in financially given the tiny levels of television income playing in the Scottish Premiership generates. Perhaps the English Premier League sides can afford this but it is unlikely that Scottish clubs can.
And in over 50 years watching Celtic these betting firms and booze brands have always been there, so you could even argue that you become so used to them that you hardly notice.
And any such ban coming just as the game recovers from the effects of the Covid shutdown season would be particularly hard to take by clubs trying to balance the books. But 26+6=1 makes a strong case for Celtic taking unilateral action on this issue. Would be very interested to hear your own thoughts, either via the comments section below or by dropping us an email to editor@thecelticstar.co.uk…
What we stand for or what we should stand for
Everyone is aware of the many footballer’s careers ruined and lives shortened by drink and/ or gambling. I don’t believe our club should be promoting either of these industries. With the Champions League money and our insurmountable dominance of Scottish Football the club doesn’t need to take money from sponsors which can’t be displayed in Europe where they have more progressive ideas around advertising unhealthy products.
Our sponsors aren’t bothered by lack of European exposure because they are focused on the Celtic fanbase. Their twin aim is to build brand loyalty within the fanbase and get global exposure via the fans themselves. As a Champions League side we should be sponsored by a non-controversial brand rather than having to hide our sponsors in shame. Ideally Celtic’s sponsor should be a company or organisations which has a positive impact on society.
This would probably not take in as much commercial revenue as the current sponsors but is it not money we would rather do without? Our football club should only be associated with healthy products but we advertise products that have ruined lives, families, careers and driven countless people to crime and suicide. Essentially it’s blood money.
Look at what greed and desperation vomited all over theRangers’ taps; bitcoin scams! They advertise the equivalent of Wobistics (Sopranos pump and dump scam), encouraging their own fans to invest in a ponzi scheme which might even suggest they were in on it. Would imagine there was some kind of special sign up deal with a voucher code identifying the blew pounds which would determine the size of their cut.
I would argue that the Celtic board allow unscrupulous companies to prey on our fans. How many fans have developed type 2 diabetes from brand loyalty to Magners? This is an uncomfortable comparison with the fraud emanating from Ibrox. It is not positive, healthy or progressive for our club to be promoting bookies and booze. We are nothing like the fraud in our values, traditions and unbroken history so we should have no business dealings resembling their unconscionable immorality.
Submitted by 26+6=1 – A well-known contributor on Celtic Noise.
Agree or disagree? Let’s hear your thoughts on this challenging topic?
I live abroad but when I’m home I always buy the taps with no sponsor as they look way better that way. If we got a non alcohol/ betting company sponsor that option would be taken away so personally I’m happy with the current situation.
I’m a bit torn TBH. To achieve UCL levels we need cash and I’m by no means a finance expert but I imagine the pool of sponsors isn’t deep with corporations that are not problematic, even companies that sell things that are not inherently a problem, like banks are like funding wars etc. On the other hand I have seen people I love have their lives ruined by addiction to gambling and alcohol, I have worked (a long time ago) with people struggling with addiction too.
Tough, wish I knew more so I could offer more. Pardon my ignorance, what does ’26+6=1′ mean?
In theory I wholeheartedly agree, but I caveat it with ‘I would like to know more to see if it is workable in the current circumstances’
no sponsor at all? A touch of class!!
money talks so if 26 + 6 =1 can find a way to generate same amount of £millions that club gets from our shirt sponsors then by all means i’m for it……as long as the team on the park don’t lose out …..can you promise Ange will not lose a player he wanted badly because of lack of income….you’ll be 1st to shout at board for not backing the manager losing titles to other mob….cry wolf me thinks.
Personally, it won’t bother me either way. I have never bought a product because it’s been blazoned on the shirt. For that matter, I don’t know a single person who has even looked at Dafabet, let alone use their services. But hey ho, this is the world we live in now. That said, unless we can secure lucrative deals with Mothercare, Samaritans, or Save the Snow Leopard, I would have no problems whatsoever sticking with Dafabet & Magners.
It’s all very well being principled when you have a stream of cash coming in from other league and TV sponsors, but my feeling is that if you have an addictive personality, then the lure of drink, gambling, smoking are all around us and you would be hooked before you set eyes on a Celtic shirt.
I understand my opinion may not be the most popular, but I would like to point out also that addiction is something I very much understand and have had experience with such demons personally. It’s not easy and in no way am I suggesting it is, but I would take some convincing that anyone started their addiction because their club was sponsored by any of these supposedly devil companies.
Good health and stay strong to anyone out there fighting with any addiction💪🙏
HAIL HAIL
KEEP THE FAITH🍀🍀
All, let’s get rid of the horrid advertising on shirts as it is a spoiler.
Why does a community club advertise gambling, and crap cider anyway. Let’s get back to the 70s when we did not need adverts!
There’s nothing wrong with brewing alcohol and selling it. Similarly, there is nothing wrong with providing a betting forum and profiting from that. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a drink or having a bet.
What is wrong is doing so irresponsibly. The responsibility for that lies with the individual.
I think a suitable compromise would be to continue to accept such sponsorship but with the proviso that suitable drink-aware and gambling-aware logos are also displayed. Something that these industries promote anyway on their product labels and on their websites.
My preference would be no advertising on the shirt at all. However, and at the risk of sounding hypocritical, I accept that in this day and age we need revenue from as many sources as possible so I am not too uncomfortable with Alcohol and Gambling sponsors but would prefer another type of product if we have to have one on our shirt. When I moved to New Zealand in 1983 a tobacco company sponsored the football. At first I accepted that but then one day I took my then 6 year old son to see NZ play England. The Winfield Tobacco Company logo was all around the ground. If I had been on my own it might not have concerned me too much but I thought it was wrong that my son should be exposed to the idea that smoking was a normal activity for anyone let alone in a sports environment. So I stopped going to any football games for a while until the tobacco sponsor was dropped. Would I have done the same if it had been Celtic? – I’d like to think so but I admit to not being 100% sure. I am sure there are parents now who are uncomfortable about their kids being exposed to betting and alcohol shirt sponsors.