Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner has been banned for one match and fined an incredible £80,000 (€100k) for revealing Paddy Power’s Lucky Pants as his preferred choice of underwear.
Bendtner lifted his jersey to reveal not just a toned stomach but also the name of Paddy Power on the waistband of his jocks after scoring his second goal in the 3-2 Group B loss to Portugal last Wednesday at Euro 2012.
The Daily Mail reports today that when Porto fans racially abused Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli in the Europa League last season, they were only made to pay £16,700. Other fines for racism include Spain in 2004 (£45,000), Serbia in 2007 (£16,500) and Croatia in 2008 (£10,000).
A spokesman for Paddy Power said:
“We are appalled with the severity of Nicklas Bendtner’s fine for displaying Paddy Power on the waistband of his lucky underpants recently.
“This is a hysterical and deeply cynical move by UEFA dictated by pure commercialism and is a far greater penalty than recent UEFA fines for far more serious incidents. We will be contacting Mr Bendtner to offer him our full support for his appeal.”
On the back of today’s news Paddy Power has slashed the odds from 12/1 to 6/1 on UEFA landing another player with a six-figure fine for displaying Paddy Power Lucky Pants during the remainder of Euro 2012.
Bendtner will be suspended for the opening match of Denmark’s 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
He can lodge an appeal within three days. The Danes were eliminated from Euro 2012 after losing 2-1 to Germany on Sunday.