Guangzhou Evergrande shirt sponsor instigates legal action

Automotive company Dongfeng Nissan has launched legal action against Chinese Super League football club Guangzhou Evergrande for what it believes is a breach of the two parties’ sponsorship agreement.

Dongfeng Nissan, a joint venture between Chinese firm Dongfeng and Japanese manufacturer Nissan, is the club’s shirt sponsor for the 2015 season and, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, paid more than CNY100m (€14.7m/$15.7m) for the privilege.

The company’s branding normally appears on the front of Guangzhou’s jerseys but was replaced by insurance company Evergrande Life – a subsidiary of one of the club’s owners – for the second leg of the club’s AFC Champions League final against United Arab Emirates-based club Al-Ahli on Saturday.

Dongfeng Nissan claims it rejected Guangzhou’s informal suggestions of displaying Evergrande Life’s branding on the jerseys and only received a written request “one minute ahead of the game”, which the club won 1-0 to claim its second Champions League title in three years.

Dongfeng Nissan added the club “took the liberty of unilaterally changing and replacing the chest advertisement without our company’s consent”.

A Guangzhou executive told the AFP news agency that it had sent Dongfeng Nissan details of the proposed kit change 10 days before the game, but the club had received no response.

The executive also said that a statement had been prepared “but we have so far refrained from publishing it because we don’t want the issue to be blown out of proportion”. The official added that the club hopes “friendly consultations” could settle the issue.