Winlink sues Liverpool

UK soccer club Liverpool FC faces a lawsuit relating to a ￡15m ($19m) training uniform sponsorship deal with BetVictor. 

Winlink claims that Liverpool owes it ￡1.125m ($1.43m)

Sports sponsorship company Winlink is claiming that Liverpool owes it ￡1.125m ($1.43m) after a senior executive made an introduction between the club and BetVictor contacts in 2013. It also believes it was heavily engaged in building a relationship between the two parties over a number of years that led to a ￡5m($6.3m)-per-year deal over the 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons. 

Liverpool FC holds that Raffaella Valentino, head of global partnership sales, personally negotiated the BetVictor deal in question with BetVictor CEO Andreas Meinrad. The club is maintaining that the introduction Winlink made had nothing to do with the deal. 

Judge Mark Pelling QC is presiding over the case, which is expected to last for five days.

The trial begins

A High Court trial on the issue began remotely on Monday. Winlink attorney Andrew Sutcliffe QC said the company had put in significant effort and time to build a relationship between the soccer club and BetVictor. 

While Sutcliffe acknowledged that Winlink was not part of the actual 2016 agreement negotiations, he said it had provided an “introduction service”. 

Claims from both sides

To earn its commission, Winlink had to meet two conditions. The first was to make an introduction between Liverpool FC and senior BetVictor decision-makers. The second condition was for the two parties to ultimately enter a sponsorship agreement. Sutcliffe maintained that Winlink had achieved both, but

Liverpool has not kept its side of the bargain.”

The legal team for Liverpool argued that the introductions made by Winlink did not at all relate to the ￡15m ($19m) deal. The company had intervened two-and-a-half years before the BetVictor deal was ultimately confirmed.

Soccer betting sponsorships

Soccer team sponsorships by sports betting companies have been a contentious subject in recent years. Italy has banned sports teams and leagues from having these types of gambling sponsors altogether.

Campaigners in the UK are also pushing for such a ban. Half of the teams in the English Premier League at the start of the season had jersey sponsors that were gambling-related.

There are concerns that young and vulnerable people’s exposure to pro-gambling messages in sports can be detrimental and contribute to problem gambling.