Some "angry fans" of British soccer are blaming the game
riots on the primary sponsor of soccer teams and leagues: beer
companies. Mark Bennett, a spokesperson for Alcohol Concern, a
pressure group in the UK that wants brewers voluntarily to drop
their names from team shirts: "It's quite obvious the role that
alcohol plays in acting as a fuel for disorder." The brewers
deny their marketing efforts contribute to the riotous behavior.
Bass sponsorship manager Jonathan Nye: "Football fans drink beer,
and there's no denying that. ... There's no correlation that
shows beer sponsorship encourages anything to do with violence or
soccer troubles at all." But according to Tara Parker-Pope in
this morning's WALL STREET JOURNAL, "the troubled alliance of
beer sponsors, soccer clubs and the rowdy fans who love them
both, has prompted widespread criticism and even spurred some
countries to ban alcohol-related advertising on team jerseys and
in stadiums." The list of soccer-club sponsors is a "veritable
who's who of the European brewing industry," which includes Coors
UK, a joint venture between Coors and Britain's Scottish &
Newcastle brewery, Carlsberg, Bass, Heineken and Holsten-Brauerei
(WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/27).
