INNIS BEEKE on the PR disaster around the unveiling of Crystal Palace’s 2024-2025 season shirt
Bet you didn’t see that coming: Palace’s new shirts have the logo of a little-known Vietnamese gambling firm
Crystal Palace has been forced to call in lawyers and crisis management specialists after the launch of the club’s new kit quickly turned into a PR disaster, risking alienating many thousands of loyal fans.
Because after having moved away from having betting firms as the club’s shirt sponsors, the new 2024-2025 kit was unveiled last week plastered with the name of Net88, a little-known, Vietnam-based bookie which had only just established a presence in the UK to try to capitalise on the exposure that Premier League clubs get in the Far East.
What was supposed to be a cherished moment to celebrate the club’s traditions, with a shirt with special detailing to mark 100 years at Selhurst Park, rapidly deteriorated, as fans used social media to vent their fury at club chairman Steve Parish, with many latching on to internet rumours that Net88 even run markets on cockfighting, and worse.
Palace were quick to scotch that particular embarrassment – the barbaric practice of cockfighting, banned in this country for more than 200 years, remains popular in parts of the Far East – as Net88 said they do not offer those gambling markets, and it was all down to some dodgy phishing campaign and nothing to do with them. But the backward step of reverting to any kind of betting firm for sponsorship support has gone down very badly with many Eagles fans.
Backing a loser: fans soon highlighted that this may be a backward step for Palace
Barry Webber, Palace’s chief commercial officer, last week introduced Net88 as “a global online gaming services platform”. Net88’s logo will be featured on the team’s front-of-shirt prime advertising spot and also on its official training wear for the next two seasons, replacing Cinch.
Many fans saw this as a backward step by the usually progressive club, with the Premier League having agreed to phase out gambling sponsors on shorts from the start of the 2026-2027 season.
On his personal LinkedIn page, Webber also boasted that this was a record deal for the club, attracting many virtual pats on the back from his followers and business associates. The Cinch deal was worth £13million over the two-year term.
But many fans said that they would not buy a replica shirt with the new sponsors’ logo on the front – much of the club’s social media around the kit launch was aimed at selling shirts (“Click to buy”), with adult sizes selling for £60-plus.
Questions were asked why Net88 had no online presence in the UK and a social media account with zero followers, having only just posted for the first time. Similarities were identified with the sponsorship deal announced the previous day by fellow Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, who will be partnering with another gaming platform, Debet.
One journalist, Martin Calladine, an expert in the business of sport and football financing, suggested the two companies were illegal Vietnamese gambling firms. Calladine described a well-established operating model for gambling firms, where a notionally UK-licensed entity can obtain a “white label” gambling licence in the Isle of Man, then promotes itself to punters in the Asian betting markets without ever trying to take bets in Britain.
Mixed reaction: not all Palace fans shared the excitement about this multi-million-pound deal
Calladine turned to trademark and website domain searches to learn more about Net88. He found a UK trademark application from March 2024 that was granted just days before the Palace sponsorship announcement. Similarly, he also reported the company’s UK website domain had been purchased days before the announcement. Contrary to the tone of Webber’s announcement, Calladine suggested that this does not look like the club is working with a long-established global company.
Another journalist, Philippe Auclair, reported that Debet and Net88 are closely related as part of a complex structure of companies — with both companies’ trademark applications made on the same day and by the same British-based law firm. Auclair described the two companies as “simply different tentacles of the same octopus”.
One Palace season ticket-holder emailed the club, to receive an expectedly prompt reply from Tim Jotischky at The PHA Group, the club’s external public relations specialists. Jotishcky is a former senior Fleet Street journalist who was once head of sport at the Daily Mail. PHA describes itself as a “PR, creative and crisis management agency”; it has handled Palace’s external communications for the past 10 years.
Jotishchky directed the fan to Net88’s statement denying any involvement in betting on cockfighting, and said that the firm had instructed lawyers in relation to fake websites purporting to be connected to their brand.
Some of those who had made statements on social media regarding Net88, meanwhile, presumably after hearing from m’learned friends, were now issuing retractions and apologies to Net88.
Selling the shirt: Palace squad members have appeared in the club’s sales campaign – ‘Click to buy’
These posts sent fans swirling. Many suggested that they had created an even worse look for the club. One fan suggested Palace’s new partner is “threatening lawsuits to journalists and content creators”. Another posted, “It’s actually scary what Palace have got themselves involved with.”
Jotischky wrote: “Net88 have provided an assurance that they have never provided, enabled or permitted betting on cockfighting or any such activity which involved harm to animals and cockfighting has never appeared through the Net88 brand.
“It is common in the Asian market for ‘phishing’ brands to be set up that seek to closely resemble the IP or URL of a genuine brand to mimic the genuine website. Net88 say they have been a victim of this activity with a number of similar websites set up that have no link to the genuine company.”
Crisis managed?
Well, only up to a point.
Palace fans still seem uncomfortable about the deal, and how it has been done.
I spoke to Palace fan, “Joe”, who is living and working in Vietnam. “Gambling is illegal in Vietnam,” Joe said.
“Casinos do exist but they’re restricted to customers with an overseas passport. But a lot of illicit gambling does happen. It’s gone underground with organised crime gangs setting up illegal markets. They use predatory techniques, exploitation, even threatening people.
“But gambling is rife. I was in a taxi recently and overheard the driver in a telephone conversation with a bookmaker. He placed a £1,600 bet on a Premier League game.
“Cockfighting, sadly, does happen here. I was walking in a quiet part of town just a few days ago when I came across a fight taking place. It’s just like you see it in the movies, groups of men in a circle, shouting, waving money and placing bets on the outcome.
Mixed reaction: fans noticed how hiring lawyers and crisis management for a shirt launch did not look great
“It’s quite horrific.
“Living here and knowing what I do, I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking around in a Palace shirt with a gambling company logo on it.
“I’m really disappointed with the club’s choice of sponsor, it feels unethical, like they’re cashing in before the Premier League bans gaming sponsors on club shirts. It’s not a good look for Palace.”
And another, home-based Palace fan, talking to Inside Croydon, said: “What level of due diligence are the commercial team conducting on these deals?
“Within just a few minutes of searching, curious fans were able to identify some deeply unpleasant findings around what we now know to be unauthorised uses of Net88’s logo.”
Just to continue to compete in the Premier League, Palace has to continue to compete with Premier League rivals in football’s global commercial arena. They have a squad to recruit and pay, and they have a £100million new stand to build, too – with work just getting underway.
But the club’s reputation will have been bruised by this episode.
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