Why are Roma and Inter playing in the Champions League without a sponsor?

Inter have had to produce a shirt without the Betsson.sport sponsor, which appears on their league kits, because of the regulations currently in force in Spain on advertising linked to betting and gambling.

More specifically, this is the Real Decreto 958/2020 de Comunicaciones Comerciales de las Actividades de Juego, which bans betting brands from appearing on match or training kits, including those linked to news sites such as the Italian club's. The ban also extends to the naming of stadiums, sports facilities and venues.

Turkey applies the same rule and does not allow operators not authorised in the country to promote their advertising.

So why, a year ago in the 2025/2026 season, were Inter able to play at the Metropolitano against Atletico Madrid with the full set of sponsors on their shirt? According to Calcio e Finanza, the answer is that Betsson chose to pay the fine set out in the royal decree on sponsorships out of their own pocket.

Unlike Inter, who chose to "clean" their shirt against Real Madrid by going sponsorless, Roma have decided to replace Eurobet.live for tomorrow's Champions League opener against Fenerbahce with a charitable initiative instead. They will take a hit on commercial revenue, but they could make some of that back through the goodwill generated by the campaign and through the limited run of the shirts, which could fetch substantial sums as collectors' items.

Matches against Real Madrid and Fenerbahce will not be the only ones in which the two clubs must go without their shirt sponsor. Inter, for example, will also be forced to remove it for the match against Feyenoord on 3 November, with Dutch laws also in line with those in Turkey and Spain. If the two clubs progress further, they will then have to decide what to do if they draw sides from those countries, as well as Belgium.