Uefa: Fans must wear the right clothes
The sponsors of Euro 08 will be protected in their investments: UEFA plans to use «brand inspectors» to crack down on groups whose clothing competes with the official sponsors.
The official sponsors of Euro 08 pay millions to Uefa for their appearances. Their backs are kept free for their investments. Uefa spokeswoman Pascale Vögeli told 20 Minuten that Uefa reserves the right to intervene as soon as groups appear that compete with the official sponsors with their clothing or engage in ambush marketing. Fan groups who, for example, visually compete with Carlsberg's Euro beer by wearing Heineken hats would have to hand in their accessories. This is to apply to all clothing if it appears too dominant to Uefa officials, and controls are to be carried out not only in and around the stadiums, but also in the official fan zones. There too, advertising space is reserved for the official Uefa sponsors. However, the responsibility for enforcing Uefa regulations there lies primarily in the hands of the host cities. However, a very pragmatic approach will be taken, Marcel Brülhart, project manager of Host City Bern, assured 20 Minuten. In case of doubt, the fans would be let in. However, if it was a large crowd of people engaged in targeted ambush marketing, they would have to stay outside.
