Bordeaux drops Winamax sponsorship over jokes about team
Winamax had posted tweets mocking the Ligue 1 team’s performance.
France.- The Ligue 1 football team FC Girondins de Bordeaux has decided to replace Winamax as its main shirt sponsor fewer than six months after signing a three-season deal with the poker and betting operator.
The team said it had taken the decision because of social media posts that went “against the spirit of the partnership”.
The team has replaced Winamax branding with that of the club’s charitable foundation Coeur Marine et Blanc, which supports associations and businesses that support health-related projects, young people and social inclusion.
Bordeaux deputy general manager Thomas Jacquemier said posts made by the Winamax Sport account on Twitter had gone against the spirit of the partnership and the contract signed in August last year.
The account had made jokes mocking the team, which included responding to a post calling for users to tell a sad story in three or fewer words with the phrase “Girondins de Bordeaux”.
Jacquemier said: “We have been thinking about this project [with Coeur Marine et Blanc] for a long time to highlight our foundation and the values of solidarity and commitment that are dear to the club and to Gérard Lopez [the club’s owner].”
He said Lopez would match each donation to the foundation up to a value of €100,000.
Winamax, meanwhile, has shown no sign of repentance for its wry humour.
When communicating the cancellation of the sponsorship deal on Twitter, the betting operator commented: “We’ve been seeking a good defence for an hour, but like the Girondins, we can’t find it.”
It followed up with the jibe: “Congratulations to FC Girondins de Bordeaux for going 20 hours without conceding a goal.”
