Cricket Ireland issues apology after row over inappropriate advertisement during Ireland- India series
Cricket Ireland has issued an apology regarding an inappropriate advertisement during the Ireland- India T20I series in August. The issue is concerned with hoarding which displayed inappropriate gambling-related advertisements with sexual content. A spokesperson from Cricket Ireland said, “We do accept that the associated imagery used by the brands on their websites are not in keeping with the values of Cricket Ireland and we unreservedly apologize for any offense inadvertently caused.”
The Issue
The issue first came to light when Irish Times reported “One of the companies which had branding present at the ground, 1xBet, was suspended by the UK Gambling Commission in 2019 after a Sunday Times investigation said that it promoted a ‘pornhub casino’, which ‘entices gamblers with topless croupiers.'”
The Reason
The entire came to public attention when a concerned parent reported it to Sports Ireland the sports development agency in Ireland. “I suppose my reason for complaining is that I have been an Irish cricket fan for 30 years. And I have a young daughter and I have been coaching cricket to children for 25 years. I wasn’t comfortable with my daughter being able to look up the sponsors on her phone, or friends or other girls or boys that I coach and finding the content on their website, on their Instagram account,” Rob O’ Connor, a Level 3 ECB coach, told Cricbuzz
Following the complaint Sports Ireland contacted CI. A spokesperson for Sports Ireland told this website, “Sport Ireland is aware of concerns raised regarding gambling sponsors at the recent cricket series between Ireland and India. Sport Ireland has discussed this issue with Cricket Ireland and they have issued a statement on the matter. Cricket Ireland is an autonomous organization and Sport Ireland encourages Cricket Ireland to generate its own revenue. However, it is always important to balance the need for investment in sport with maintaining the core values of sport such as inclusion, integrity, respect, excellence and accountability.”
Cricket Ireland said that the board will also write to BCCI regarding the controversy
