No shirt sponsors, for one night only

What a spectacle the clash between Lyon and Liverpool at the Stade Gerland was. The stage was set after the speculation surrounding Rafa’s job but all-in-all it was a drab affair, Ryan Babel’s 30-yard stunner being the only highlight worth mentioning. But it was for a more trivial matter that the game was so enjoyable.

Last night saw a return to the glory days, if ever so briefly, as both teams graced the field without the logos of their multi-million pound/dollar/euro sponsors emblazoned on the front.

Shirt sponsorship has been around for decades and is one of the most lucrative forms of sponsorships in club football. Liverpool were trailblazers, being one of the first clubs in Britain to plaster their shirts with a company logo when they bought Hitachi on board back in 1979.

Until that point the only sponsorship had been from the kit-makers themselves, such as Umbro’s double-diamond was especially popular in those days.

Now the logos of these multi-national corporations have become so common that I had to look twice to notice what was different about the kit. Liverpool in all white and Lyon with a red and blue stripe across the midriff with no massive emblems in sight. It was a night to savour.

The reason for the sponsor-free strips? I wish I could say it was out of good will, but it’s down to French law. Liverpool’s current shirt sponsor is the Danish beer brand Carlsberg and as advertising of alcohol products on television in France is prohibited, so Liverpool were unable to wear their regular strip for the night.

While there has been much talk about Liverpool both on and off the pitch recently, some of the good work by their back room staff has gone largely unnoticed.

Firstly, Liverpool’s 17-year relationship with Carlsberg ended recently after they opted to sign on with Standard Chartered in a deal estimated to be worth £80million over four years, £5million more than the deal with Carlsberg was pulling in and right up there with both Chelsea and Manchester United.

To put that figure into perspective; Fulham are hoping that they can further their partnership with current sponsor LG but they are holding out for £5.5million.

Liverpool’s second place finish in the EPL last season compared with Fulham’s very respectable seventh sees a £15million per season discrepancy, which is a huge figure in anyone’s book.

Also this week they announced a deal with 188bet, current shirt sponsors of Wigan and Bolton, which is also expected to net them £80million over the next four years.

It’s interesting to note that of the twenty teams in the EPL, five are sponsored by the gambling industry and two by alcohol brands.

It’s only a matter of time before religion and economics clash as they did when Freddie Kanoute refused to don Sevilla’s 888.com sponsored strip as gambling is against the principles of Islam.

So while the owners aren’t on speaking terms, Rafa’s squad is threadbare and the club is on the brink of exit from the Champions League, at least they gave some old-school fans something to smile about, even if it was for one night only.