It was another big night of Europa League action as British clubs chased a place among the top eight automatic qualifiers for the Round of 16 in March.
For the teams on their travels there was a different look to their classic shirts.
Aston Villa, Celtic and Nottingham Forest were all forced to change the name of their sponsor to comply with local legislations.
Changing Shirt Sponsor For Europe
Several countries across Europe have a ban on gambling adverts and that includes front-of-shirt sponsors.
This season 11 Premier League clubs carry the names of gambling companies across their chests.
Celtic, Rangers and Dundee United in Scotland have shirt sponsorship deals with sports betting companies.
UEFA regulations also enforce a blanket ban on tobacco and strong alcohol being displayed in their competitions.
That leaves British clubs playing in Europe needing to either blank out the sponsor or seek an acceptable alternative.
For many the answer is to turn to charitable organisations associated with the club.
Aston Villa Foundation
Aston Villa’s 1-0 win at Fenerbahce has left them in a healthy second place in the Europa League standings.
Jadon Sancho’s rare header on 25 minutes secured an automatic spot in the Round of 16 for Unai Emery’s men.
There was no place for summer transfer Harvey Elliott whose wasteful loan move may be cut short ahead of the January window deadline.
Villa’s regular shirt sponsor is Betano, a digital sports betting operator, who first appeared last season.
During Villa’s Champions League campaign in 2024-25 they wore shirts with Acorns on their shirts away from home.
Acorns Children’s Hospice is Aston Villa’s long-standing charity partner.
For this season, players carry Aston Villa Foundation, the club’s own registered charity which was established in 2013.
Turkey has a strict ban on all forms of gambling and betting advertising.
Nottingham Forest Community Trust
It was a disastrous night for Nottingham Forest in Portugal.
The 1-0 defeat in Braga saw Forest manage an unenviable trifecta of a missed penalty, an own goal and a red card.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s spot-kick was saved on 53 minutes and 54 seconds later captain Ryan Yates diverted the ball into the Forest net.
Elliott Anderson saw red in stoppage time after making comments to the referee.
It increases speculation about the future of boss Sean Dyche and who could become the next Nottingham Forest manager.
From the start of the 2025-26 season, Forest’s front-of shirt sponsor is Bally’s, who operate Bally Bet Sports & Casino in the UK.
For the trip to Portugal the players’ shirts promoted the work of the Nottingham Forest Community Trust.
The Trust was launched in 2010 to support local people and organisations through a range of partnerships.
Celtic FC Foundation
Celtic’s trip to Italy lived up to the old football cliché of a ‘game of two halves’.
Reo Hatate played the role of both hero and villain in a battling 2-2 draw at Bologna.
The Japan international put Celtic 1-0 up on six minutes before being sent off for a second yellow card after the half-hour mark.
Auston Trusty made it 2-0 for the visitors five minutes before the break.
Second-half goals for Bologna from Thijs Dallinga and Jonathan Rowe drew the tie level.
Martin O’Neill’s 10-men managed to hold on for a valuable point, boosting Celtic’s slim chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
Dafabet has been the longest front-of-shirt sponsor in Celtic’s history and signed a sponsorship extension for a further three years in 2024.
For European away days in countries like Italy that ban gambling advertising, the players’ shirts display Celtic FC Foundation.
Dafabet have allowed the club to promote the foundation logo on Celtic shirts over the past few seasons of European competition.
The Celtic FC Foundation is a registered charity with a mission to ‘create opportunities for society’s most vulnerable and marginalised groups’.
