Sportsbet.io sign three-year deal as main sponsor

Touché

 

Directors are responsible for the moral compass of the company... if they have one.

 

The thing is, generally fans don't really care that much about the moral direction of their club. They'd rather have a bit more money and have Wonga as their sponsor and they'll attempt to justify it by saying "That's just the way it is", to quote Bruce Hornsby and it's in the best interest of the club and if it means the club gets more money then it's worth it. The end would justify the means, in their eyes. And if a club is successful, then everything else is unimportant. I bet if Newcastle were challenging for the top 4, hardly any Newcastle fans would care about Mike Ashley and/or working practices at JD Sports.

Of course, on the other hand what power do we have as fans to express our disgust with a particular type of a sponsor? We can write an e-mail, complain on Twitter or choose not to buy the shirt, but frankly whoever sponsors Portsmouth I wouldn't buy the kit anyway because our shirt peaked in 2014 and I am happy with that one so I wouldn't buy a new one regardless.

I suppose the best thing you can do would be to petition your local MP on your behalf to campaign against allowing betting companies (and parasitic companies like Wonga) as shirt sponsors. If you have any faith in your MP and/or the political system (I don't).