In this article, we look at players who haven’t seen eye-to-eye with their bosses over their choice in sponsors.
1. Frederic Kanoute
Mali international Kanoute refused to wear a sponsorship logo for the 888 poker website on religious grounds during his time with Spanish side Sevilla.
The former West Ham striker deemed the deal to be against his Muslim beliefs. He was granted permission to play in a brand-free version of the Sevilla shirt and excused from corporate duties undertaken by his team-mates on behalf of the company.
As the video above shows, he was eventually persuaded to change his mind in subsequent seasons… although he still managed to create a stir on occasions.
2. Papiss Cisse
Newcastle striker Cisse started this season with a refusal to wear the club’s new shirt. Like Kanoute, he suggested that the club’s sponsorship arrangement was not compatible with his faith. The Magpies had agreed a deal with payday loan company Wonga.
Cisse missed a pre-season trip to Portugal after being forced to train away from the first-team during the row.
However, the Senegal international’s position was undermined when he was photographed in a Tyneside casino, which is probably not where devout Muslims choose to spend their free time. He backed down and returned to pre-season training shortly after the photo emerged, but not before being hit with a £5,000 fine.
3. Johan Cruyff
The original and perhaps greatest example. It’s easy to dismiss these shenanigans as a by-product of modern football, but Cruyff was doing it as long ago as 1974.
While kids across the world were begging their parents to buy authentic Adidas gear rather than two-stripe knock-offs, the legendary Dutchman insisted on only having two stripes.
He felt his sponsorship deal with Adidas’s fierce rivals Puma was undermined by the Dutch FA’s kit supply deal and insisted on wearing a customised two-stripe version of the kit. Incredibly, the powers-that-be obliged and Cruyff got his own way.
4. Mario Gotze
An off-field example now. Germany and Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze has been in trouble on two occasions for donning his Nike-sponsored gear when he should have been wearing Adidas.
The three-stripe band own a stake in Bayern, so the club were forced to apologise and fine their new star €20,000 when Gotze turned up for his unveiling in a Nike t-shirt.
And he was up to his old tricks ahead of Germany’s World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland last week. He wore Nike socks to a national team training meet rather than the regulation issue Nike pair. He swapped ahead of the session, but only because his Nike boots were going on at that stage.
5. Miguel Montez
The El Salvador international was banned from playing for his country for 12 months and given a $250 fine for wearing his own goalkeeping gloves and socks rather than those made by Mitre, which had paid $600,000 to sponsor the team.
Montez has reportedly flouted the sponsorship arrangement on several occasions before receiving his ban.
He was recalled to the squad after his suspension but has subsequently been given a life ban for match-fixing. It seems the make of his gloves should have been the least of the Savadoran FA’s concerns.
