In the promotional products industry, brand visibility is the highest priority. If you can get your clients’ brands in front of the public eye, you’ve done your job as a promotional products professional. But, if your client is a professional sports team who just won under shady circumstances, you might advise them to avoid giving a branded bag to the referee responsible.
Unfortunately, no one warned Real Madrid.
Here’s a quick recap of why this is bad: During a game between Real Madrid and Villareal, referee Jesus Gil Manzano awarded Real Madrid a questionable penalty kick.
Villareal’s president, Fernando Roig, voiced his concerns over seeing Manzano leave the stadium with Real Madrid-branded bags.
“Gil Manzano and his assistants left the ground with Real Madrid bags,” Roig told AS. “That’s not right, it seems to me.”
Roig didn’t explain what was in the bag, so it’s left up to speculation whether the bag was full of Real Madrid merchandise or just a plastic bag from the club’s store that he used to carry his belongings.
Either way, it shows a bit of a lack of foresight on the referee’s part. If you effectively cause the home team to lose, maybe don’t walk around with a promotional product with the rival’s logo on it.
