Post by Tangerine Sherlock on Oct 8, 2012 12:34:05 GMT 1
Looks like Wonga want to splash the cash, good luck you will need it. Of course advertising alcohol and gambling on a club shirt is fine and dandy
NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley has been warned of the damaging social consequences of a sponsorship deal with payday loan lender Wonga.
It is understood the finance company, which has faced criticism for its high interest rates, is being lined up to replace Virgin Money as the club’s shirt sponsor.
It is not thought any agreement would include the naming rights for St James’s Park stadium.
Malcolm Dix, honorary vice-president of Newcastle United, has welcomed the news.
He said: “If they are going to pay £20m for the right to sponsor the club, then that’s great. It’s a very interesting choice of company. After all, in the financial situation that this country is in, then the people that lend the money are probably the richest of the lot.”
Payday loan companies came under fire from the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, earlier this year.
He described their activities as “morally wrong”.
He said: “When the payday lenders talk about an amount of money in cash terms that you pay extra at the end of the month, then it does not sound too bad.
“But the reality is interest rates in the thousands of per cent. It is just morally wrong.”
Newcastle United ‘superfan’ Keith ‘Beefy Roberts, of Brisbane Avenue, Jarrow, described the latest negotiations as “a joke”.
He said: “It’s just another case of Ashley wanting to drag us down further. Which club would want to be associated with a name like Wonga?
“It’s a joke, but it’s not surprising.
“All Ashley cares about is money.”
Newcastle Council leader Nick Forbes has also condemned the move.
He was highly critical last year of the decision to rename St James’s Park as the Sports Direct Arena.
And if the deal were to go-ahead, Mr Forbes believes it would undermine city efforts to crackdown on legal loan sharking. He said: “There is widespread concern in Newcastle about the role of legal loan sharks in getting people further and further into debt, offering irresponsible rates of interest that people can’t afford.”
Meanwhile, Labour MP for Wansbeck, Ian Lavery, a Newcastle United season ticket holder, has threatened to break all ties with the club if the deal went ahead.
The club declined to comment.
NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley has been warned of the damaging social consequences of a sponsorship deal with payday loan lender Wonga.
It is understood the finance company, which has faced criticism for its high interest rates, is being lined up to replace Virgin Money as the club’s shirt sponsor.
It is not thought any agreement would include the naming rights for St James’s Park stadium.
Malcolm Dix, honorary vice-president of Newcastle United, has welcomed the news.
He said: “If they are going to pay £20m for the right to sponsor the club, then that’s great. It’s a very interesting choice of company. After all, in the financial situation that this country is in, then the people that lend the money are probably the richest of the lot.”
Payday loan companies came under fire from the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, earlier this year.
He described their activities as “morally wrong”.
He said: “When the payday lenders talk about an amount of money in cash terms that you pay extra at the end of the month, then it does not sound too bad.
“But the reality is interest rates in the thousands of per cent. It is just morally wrong.”
Newcastle United ‘superfan’ Keith ‘Beefy Roberts, of Brisbane Avenue, Jarrow, described the latest negotiations as “a joke”.
He said: “It’s just another case of Ashley wanting to drag us down further. Which club would want to be associated with a name like Wonga?
“It’s a joke, but it’s not surprising.
“All Ashley cares about is money.”
Newcastle Council leader Nick Forbes has also condemned the move.
He was highly critical last year of the decision to rename St James’s Park as the Sports Direct Arena.
And if the deal were to go-ahead, Mr Forbes believes it would undermine city efforts to crackdown on legal loan sharking. He said: “There is widespread concern in Newcastle about the role of legal loan sharks in getting people further and further into debt, offering irresponsible rates of interest that people can’t afford.”
Meanwhile, Labour MP for Wansbeck, Ian Lavery, a Newcastle United season ticket holder, has threatened to break all ties with the club if the deal went ahead.
The club declined to comment.