Barcelona defend Qatar Airways sponsorship deal

Dec 12, 2012 11:00:00 PM

A Blaugrana official has defended the club's decision to adorn their shirts with a corporate sponsor next season, saying that an airline is more legitimate than a betting website

Barcelona financial vice-president Javier Faus has defended the club's plan to adorn their kits with the Qatar Airways brand from next season.

The move represents the first time a corporation rather than a charity will feature on their jerseys, having had Unicef and Qatar Foundation on their shirts in recent years.

But Faus feels the partnership with an airline was favourable to linking up with a gambling company, like Real Madrid have done with Austrian bookmaker Bwin.

"A lot of the big sponsors that are willing to sponsor clubs like us - which is a very, very big investment - come from airlines, like Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways, or from betting companies [such as] Bwin," he told Sport360.

"We would much rather have an airline from this area than a betting company."

Faus went on to voice his opinion that lucrative sponsorship deals with Middle Eastern companies, such as the ones that finance Arsenal and Manchester City, should not receive any scrutiny.

"I think the sponsorships of Arsenal and Manchester City are legitimate,” he said.

"I would be irresponsible if I questioned their sponsorship and I would not expect them to question our sponsorship."