Photo: Arsenal FC
Back in April, British football club Arsenal announced it signed an agreement with Chinese carmaker BYD that would see the Asians becoming the official car and bus partner for the Londoners.
The deal, said the club at the time, was signed in the presence of Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s chief commercial officer and Sherry Li, BYD’s brand and public relations director. The agreement between the two was negotiated during Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Shanghai and Beijing in 2017.
Since Monday this week, no one seems to understand whether that deal is or is not still valid, as a very twisted story started surfacing on the web.
As per a multitude of reports, including an official statement that is said to come from their Chinese website, Arsenal has been notified by BYD that it might have been the victim of a scam.
According to Football.London, Chinese authorities are currently investigating a person that goes by the name of Li Juan and is suspected of having posed as a BYD employee to sign forged marketing and sponsorship contracts. Including the one with Arsenal, it would seem.
The club defends itself and somewhat appears to refuse to believe it might hvw . In the official statement, Arsenal says it is currently talking to BYD officials that were present at a ceremony to seal the deal on May 8 on the Emirates Stadium.
“On May 8 this year, the club and BYD held a ceremony at the Emirates Airlines football stadium to jointly form a partnership,” the club says.
“We are investigating the current state of the incident and discussing this matter with the senior representatives of BYD who participated in the launch of this cooperation. The club will not comment more on this incident. “
It not entirely clear who did what in this murky story. We’ll update it as soon as more information becomes available.
Since Monday this week, no one seems to understand whether that deal is or is not still valid, as a very twisted story started surfacing on the web.
As per a multitude of reports, including an official statement that is said to come from their Chinese website, Arsenal has been notified by BYD that it might have been the victim of a scam.
According to Football.London, Chinese authorities are currently investigating a person that goes by the name of Li Juan and is suspected of having posed as a BYD employee to sign forged marketing and sponsorship contracts. Including the one with Arsenal, it would seem.
The club defends itself and somewhat appears to refuse to believe it might hvw . In the official statement, Arsenal says it is currently talking to BYD officials that were present at a ceremony to seal the deal on May 8 on the Emirates Stadium.
“On May 8 this year, the club and BYD held a ceremony at the Emirates Airlines football stadium to jointly form a partnership,” the club says.
“We are investigating the current state of the incident and discussing this matter with the senior representatives of BYD who participated in the launch of this cooperation. The club will not comment more on this incident. “
It not entirely clear who did what in this murky story. We’ll update it as soon as more information becomes available.
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