September 10 – AS Roma will pull Eurobet.live from the front of their shirts for tonight’s UEFA Champions League opener at Fenerbahçe, with Turkish gambling advertising restrictions preventing the club from displaying its main sponsor in Istanbul.
In its place will be the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) logo, turning what could have been an awkward commercial issue into a one-off fundraising campaign.
Match-worn shirts will be auctioned off after the match, with proceeds going to WFP’s emergency response in Nepal, where some 43,000 people are in urgent need of aid following severe flooding and landslides.
Eurobet.live only arrived with the shirt in March, signing until the end of the 2028/29 season. Italian reports value the deal at between €13m and €14m per year, which can rise to €16m with bonuses and close to €50m over the entire term.
Even this arrangement had to be carefully structured. Italy’s Dignity Decree heavily restricts gambling advertising, and Roma uses the Eurobet.live sports information brand instead of the bookmaker’s main Eurobet identity.
This solution does not work in Turkey. Authorities there have tightened their focus on advertising illegal and unauthorized gambling, with new restrictions coming into force from August 1 and broadcasters also facing rules on promoting betting during live sports.
It means Eurobet.live will miss out on exposure on one of Roma’s biggest European nights of the season, although there is no suggestion the club will lose sponsorship revenue or face any penalties under the deal.
Gypsies have at least found a useful answer to the problem. The WFP brand gives purpose to the otherwise vacant space and adds a fundraising element to a match that also marks Roma’s return to the Champions League after seven years away.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side kick off their league campaign at Fenerbahçe’s Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium tonight, with their usual pair of €50m shirts temporarily abandoned at home.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)