Huddersfield chairman Phil Hodgkinson tried to get the referee to stop his team from wearing their spoof kit during a pre-season friendly.
The Terriers were fined £50,000 by the Football Association on Thursday for the Paddy Power football shirt they wore during the clash with Rochdale in July.
They revealed a sash-style shirt with the betting company’s logo on as their new home shirt.
They wore it during the friendly despite the logo exceeding the Football Association’s guidelines.
The published written reasons behind the decision included a signed witness statement from match referee Martin Coy, who revealed Hodgkinson had asked him to ban the kit, which ‘could then potentially be good publicity and part of the advertising campaign’.
Coy’s statement added: “I was uncomfortable with this and felt it was not my place to ban the kit outright, but I informed them that I would recommend they followed the rules and advice from The FA. I also stated that I did not want to be part of any publicity.
“At this point the chairman said that the team would not wear the kit and I would not be part of any advertising.”
Town and the bookmaker later admitted it was a stunt before releasing a sponsor-free kit as part of their ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign.
The club were charged by the governing body for breaching its kit and advertising regulations, a charge the club later admitted to.
On Thursday, the FA confirmed the club, relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, had been officially sanctioned for the stunt.
An FA spokesperson said: “Huddersfield Town FC has been fined £50,000 and warned as to its future conduct by an independent Regulatory Commission after admitting a charge in relation to The FA’s Kit and Advertising Regulations.
“Playing kit worn by the club’s first team during a pre-season friendly against Rochdale AFC on 17 July 2019 breached FA Regulation C.2(i).”
Hudderfield were informed on the afternoon of the match by the FA that, if worn, it may take disciplinary action against the club.
It had been decided a training kit would be worn instead, but when the bookmaker was informed Hodgkinson, who purchased the club during May 2019, confirmed: “We were threatened with legal action and the sponsor said that it would be deemed to be a material breach of the sponsorship agreement if the team did not wear the oversized logo.”
The Terriers chairman added: “This is an unfortunate event, but we accept responsibility and offer a full apology.”
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The FA was also told the club’s official kit for the season would not feature the sponsor’s name, but had not received any account from the bookmakers.
The written reasons added: “The blatant nature of the advertisement garnered much media attention and, to use the colloquial phrase, ‘the damage was already done’.
“Whilst betting companies are currently permitted to advertise on kits, the FA submits that the decision to enlarge the advertisement in such an overt manner was irresponsible, particularly in the current climate regarding gambling.”
In reply to the FA’s submissions, Hough said: “In hindsight, the club may have got this decision wrong, however, at the time, and under time pressures, we felt that the ramifications (not just financial) of litigation were potentially very damaging to the club and this affected our judgement.”
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