England's Chelsea Soccer Club Contemplates Parimatch Breakup - Newstbt.com

There is a strong effort being made to create a divide between sports teams and gaming businesses in the UK, which could potentially have a dramatic effect on the British football landscape, including Chelsea FC. This situation was initiated in Ukraine when a number of games businesses, among them Parimatch, with assumed links to the Russian Federation were closed.

Despite the joyous celebration of a win on the pitch, members of the Chelsea FC soccer team could be facing public relations issues due to their ties to Parimatch, which was recently sanctioned by Ukraine. In response to the situation, the English Premier League (EPL) proposed a self-enforced ban on front-of-jersey sponsorships by gaming operators, attempting to force the issue to be addressed in the government’s upcoming gambling white paper. While a number of teams have already expressed their support in the idea, it could lead some teams to have to step away from their gaming sponsorships entirely. This would cause issues for teams like Chelsea FC, whose current front-of-jersey sponsor is Parimatch.

Parimatch Took a Bite Out of English Soccer

Recently, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree against a total of 280 companies and 120 people, allegedly connected to Russia in defiance of both international and Ukranian sanctions. Among those was Parimatch, a 30-year-old sports betting company based in Ukraine. The specifics of Parimatch’s violation are still unclear, yet what is known is that it was a sponsor of three English soccer clubs. Most notably, Chelsea Football Club, having reportedly stepped away in March 2020, but still visible through its logo displayed at Stamford Bridge in London. It was upon The Daily Mail’s inquiry into the situation that Chelsea was made aware, and claim to be now reviewing the circumstances to determine a plan of action.

American billionaire Todd Boehly, who is also part owner of MLB’s L.A. Dodgers and the NBA’s L.A. Lakers, is the new owner of Chelsea following former owner Roman Abramovich’s forced sale. This comes as a result of the illegal invasion of Ukraine and the international sanctions that were imposed due to this as the British government froze Abramovich’s assets, such as Chelsea. Since then, the club is attempting to bounce back. Chelsea is not alone in this situation.

Chelsea Not Alone

Four EPL teams have deals with Parimatch – Chelsea, Aston Villa, Leicester, and Newcastle (who signed its partnership in September), and none responded to questions regarding its contuinuation. If these teams decide to sever ties, they may have to search for new sponsors as the UK’s current opinion on sports gambling sponsorships make it difficult. Furthermore, it was reported that Sportradar LLC, a Russia-based betting operator, was included in Ukraine’s list of sanctioned companies, which took everyone by surprise – including Sportradar.

Sportradar AG, a Switzerland-based sports technology company, has confirmed that it was not being referenced in a report by a Russian company. The two firms have no connection and the Russian company was likely attempting to exploit the name and renown of the global sports data provider.