«Anomalies» in Manchester City sponsorship deal with 8xBet

According to the Mail on Sunday, the commercial partnership between English football giant Manchester City and 8xBet contains several «anomalies.»

In July, the reigning Premier League champions entered into an agreement with 8xBet, after which the iGaming brand became the «official partner of the club» in Asia. As part of the deal, 8xBet will partner with City to create content, promote the brand in stadiums for the Etihad team, and use other marketing gear for the Asian region.

Football magazine Josimar has revealed several alleged controversies related to 8xBet. This includes conflicting data about employees and the origin of the business. Neither the bookmaker nor City subsequently responded to questions from the publication.

The publication found out that the woman who posed as a representative of 8xBet, in fact, a London-based model, not associated with the company. The woman starred in a video in which former England striker Teddy Sheringham was announced as the «ambassador» of the brand.

The Mail reports that the video was created for a fictional narrative. Ryan Lee, founder and acting CEO of 8xBet, denied this in an interview with Insider Sport. «Just like when a football club makes a star signing, we wanted to show our pride and excitement and to let everyone know about Teddy joining 8xBet,» he said.

The Mail on Sunday also reports that Dubai-based marketing firm QOO Global, which Manchester City names as its gambling spokesperson, has committed its own infractions. 8xBet is the only client listed on the QOO website as no other clients can be viewed due to «confidentiality» reasons. QOO employees are also alleged to have fake social media profiles tracing links to the bookmaker.

The 8xBet report comes after Premier League team Fulham recently ended their partnership with Titan Capital Markets due to concerns over the legitimacy of the CFD trading firm.

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