Off the top of my head I can’t remember the last time a football club lost a sponsorship deal over the appointment of a manager but that is what has happened at Swindon. The local branch of the GMB union has taken exception to the controversial political views of new manager Paolo di Canio.
Admittedly, the sum involved is not large – £4,000 – and they are not the main sponsors (last year this was the magazine 4-4-2 which fan ‘insider’ features on the club).
Off the top of my head I can’t remember the last time a football club lost a sponsorship deal over the appointment of a manager but that is what has happened at Swindon. The local branch of the GMB union has taken exception to the controversial political views of new manager Paolo di Canio.
Admittedly, the sum involved is not large – £4,000 – and they are not the main sponsors (last year this was the magazine 4-4-2 which fan ‘insider’ features on the club).
Paolo di Canio was interviewed on Radio 5 this evening. His answers were not very specific, but he said that the fans would miss some good football if they stayed away. He said that it was not a football matter.
The local secretary of the GMB was interviewed and said that while the union could not be associated with racism, he would probably still attend matches as an individual fan. He hoped that the multi-cultural atmosphere of Swindon Town Football Club might help to change di Canio’s views. However, he noted that the club was already the subject of internet jokes about the manager only buying right wingers and building a statue of Mussolini.