SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
EFL Championship side Huddersfield Town has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association (FA) following the release of its hoax ‘Paddy Power sash kit’.
The charge is centred around a publicity stunt featuring the North Yorkshire side and the Irish bookmaker. The stunt, which saw the release of an unregulated ‘sash’ styled kit, featured a prominent Paddy Power logo printed down the length of the shirt that appeared to break FA regulations.
Following a pre-season friendly at Rochdale, which saw The Terriers don the controversial strip, the FA released a statement which seemed to confirm the kit had breached section C.2i of the Kit and Advertising regulations which states no more than 250 square centimetres is permitted for front-of-shirt sponsorships.
“The FA has clear Kit & Advertising regulations for all club matchday kits. If we believe that any club has breached these rules we will look into the matter and, if required, will take the appropriate action.”
The club were quick to confirm the kit was a hoax and in turn released its official unsponsored strip, with Huddersfield’s commercial director Sean Jarvis commenting: “When we announced the kit, we knew the design would cause quite a negative stir and that was part of the campaign.”
As well as the official release, The Terriers also announced the launch of Paddy Power’s ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign, however, the charge still remains and the club now have until August 16th to respond.
