Sports Ireland got in touch with Cricket Ireland over a discussion regarding sponsorship agreements for the advertisements that were on display during India's recent T20I tour of Ireland at Malahide, Co Dublin. Sports Ireland allegedly received a lot of complaints about advertisements from gambling companies that had their hoardings at the venue and their branding was visible on the boundary rope during the course of the games.
Some of the companies that had their branding at the venue during the matches included 1xBet, SportsX9 and Kheloyar. These websites have adult content on their platforms and have images of a sexual nature that can be offensive to viewers across age groups.
One of the spokespersons of Cricket Ireland shed light on the matter and mentioned how the apex cricketing body in the country was planning to tackle the issue.
“The brands you reference are not sponsors of Cricket Ireland or the event, have a lower-level of visibility than the team/event sponsors, are not associated with Cricket Ireland outside of the event or at any other time. They also did not appear in our official match programme,” the spokesman told The Irish Times.
“However, we do fully appreciate that, to the casual observer, the distinction between sponsors and those merely entitled to signage within the stadium is an irrelevance, and all they might see is a sign at a cricket match. The brands used did not reflect well upon us – and once again we apologise unreservedly for any offence caused,” he added.
India toured Ireland for a three-match T20I series in August. All the matches of the tour were played at The Village in Dublin. India led by Jasprit Bumrah won the series 2-0 after claiming the first game by 2 runs (DLS method) and emerging victorious in the second fixture by 33 runs. The third fixture was washed out due to rain.
