Denmark striker, Nicklas Bendtner, has been fined €100,000 and banned for one competitive fixture by UEFA as a result of his second goal celebration in his country’s 3-2 Group B defeat to Portugal at Euro 2012.
As part of his celebration, Bendtner lowered his shorts to reveal a striking Paddy Power logo on his underpants. According to Article 18.18 of the Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2010-12, “All kit items worn during the final tournament must be free of any sponsor advertising”. Although Bendtner claimed he was unaware of the rules in relation to “ambush marketing”, UEFA found the striker guilty of misconduct.
When questioned about the incident, Bendtner said: “It is just a pair of lucky boxer shorts that I used in the first game as well and have used before the tournament”.
Paddy Power was inundated with messages via its social media channels proposing it pay the €100,000 fine for the incident now referred to as “pants-gate”. As a result of the backlash, Paddy Power decided to “foot the bill” for the fine which it is describing as “massively over-the-top”.
Contributed by Brian McElligott.
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