Sydney: The Australian cricket team lost a major sponsor and a host of large companies ripped up branding deals with individual players on Thursday as the fallout of a ball-tampering scandal tore into the financial core of the country’s favourite pastime.
Fund manager Magellan Financial Group Ltd binned a three-year team naming rights deal, which was only seven months old, while sports apparel giant Asics Corp and Commonwealth Bank of Australia joined other firms in dropping players caught in the scandal, which has shaken cricket.
“A conspiracy by the leadership of the Australian men’s Test cricket team, which broke the rules with a clear intention to gain an unfair advantage during the third Test in South Africa, goes to the heart of integrity,” said Magellan CEO Hamish Douglass in the statement.
“These recent events are so inconsistent with our values that we are left with no option but to terminate our ongoing partnership with Cricket Australia.”
Magellan has not put a price on the sponsorship deal and did not immediately return calls seeking more details, but Australian media reported it was worth about A$20 million ($15.30 million).
The relatively low profile company’s 2017 annual report said it struck the Cricket Australia deal to improve its familiarity with Australians and forecast a “material increase in its currently modest marketing expenditure” in part because of the sponsorship.
Moral clauses are commonplace in sports sponsorship deals, allowing both parties to exit if the other engages in conduct that might negatively impact on the image, goodwill and reputation of their partner.
“Any celebrity must be aware that large corporates will not tolerate conduct which might damage their brand,” said Andy Brian from UK law firm Gordons.
“We have seen this many times before... I would not be surprised to see more action by other sponsors in the coming days and weeks.”
More than 52 per cent of Australians thought suspending players for a season was the most appropriate punishment for ball tampering, a poll by Australian cable television network Sky News found. Nearly a third supported a lifetime ban.
