{"id":125312,"date":"2020-01-24T14:40:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T22:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=125312"},"modified":"2020-01-24T15:25:50","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T23:25:50","slug":"rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go Due to Religious Beliefs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby legend Sonny Bill Williams will refuse to wear the logo of gambling company Betfred<\/a> on his jersey when he lines up for the Toronto Wolfpack at the beginning of February.<\/p>\n

\"Sonny
Sonny Bill Williams\u2019s Toronto Wolfpack deal is the biggest in Super League history, but the star is balking at the league sponsor. (Image: lionsrugby)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The two-time Rugby World Cup<\/a> winner completed a $10 million move to the Wolfpack in November \u2013 a record transfer fee for the Betfred Super League, which Wolfpack chairman Bob Hunter compared to \u201cDavid Beckham signing for the LA Galaxy,\u201d while describing Williams as \u201crugby\u2019s Lebron James.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Williams converted to Islam in 2009, a religion that prohibits gambling, and the Betfred logo is strictly haram, <\/em>i.e., <\/em>forbidden.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in discussions with Super League about this, but Sonny has been very clear in his stance on the matter,\u201d Hunter told Telegraph Sport<\/em> on Thursday. \u201cI think Betfred will benefit by taking the position that we respect and honor the player\u2019s religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s society, there are some very sensitive issues, but I think the sponsor can say \u2018yes, okay, we understand this. He\u2019s a big brand and big name, but we get it\u2019,\u201d he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On Friday, the Super League said it would agree to Williams\u2019s request to cover up the logo on his jersey.<\/p>\n

From League to Union and Back <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UK-based Super League is composed of 12 teams, 10 from England, one from France and one — the Wolfpack — from Canada. It is the top level of professional rugby league, a game distinct from rugby union, which has different rules and is the more popular version played worldwide.<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 deal with the Wolfpack marks his return to rugby league, the game he played at the start of his professional career, after finding fame and World Cup glory with rugby union.<\/p>\n

While the two games appear very similar to the casual viewer, they use different scoring systems and are distinct in terms of tactics, game management, and playing styles. Union even has two more players per team — 15, to the league\u2019s 13.<\/p>\n

Logo ‘No Small Thing’<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Williams\u2019 objection to the Betfred logo had been widely predicted by rugby pundits. While playing for the Auckland Blues in 2017, he was permitted to cover-up the logo of a banking sponsor, because Islam also prohibits the charging of interest on loans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy objection to wearing clothing that markets banks, alcohol, and gambling companies is central to my religious beliefs,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile a logo on a jersey might seem like a small thing to some people, it is important to me that I do the right thing with regards to my faith and hope that people respect that,\u201d Williams added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Williams is not the first Muslim athlete to take a stand against logos that are forbidden under the principles of Islam.<\/p>\n

While playing for Sevilla in Spain\u2019s La Liga, French soccer player Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Kanout\u00e9 refused to wear the 888.com logo.<\/p>\n

In the EPL, Senegalese Newcastle United striker Pappiss Ciss\u00e9 protested against wearing branding for Wonga.com, a payday loans company, because it offended his religious belief. But his position was compromised after he was photographed apparently gambling in a local casino, and he later relented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rugby legend Sonny Bill Williams will refuse to wear the logo of gambling company Betfred on his jersey when he lines up for the Toronto Wolfpack at the beginning of February. The two-time Rugby World Cup winner completed a $10 million move to the Wolfpack in November \u2013 a record transfer fee for the Betfred […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":125313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sonny Bill Williams will not be wearing the Betfred logo when he takes to the field for the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Super League next month.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sonny Bill Williams will not be wearing the Betfred logo when he takes to the field for the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Super League next month.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-24T22:40:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-24T23:25:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1847\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/\",\"name\":\"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-24T22:40:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-24T23:25:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Sonny Bill Williams will not be wearing the Betfred logo when he takes to the field for the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Super League next month.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg\",\"width\":1847,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Sonny Bill Williams\u2019 Toronto Wolfpack deal is the biggest in Super League history but the star is balking at the league\u2019s sponsor logo. (Image: lionsrugby)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sports Betting\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Sports\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/sports\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go Due to Religious Beliefs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go","description":"Sonny Bill Williams will not be wearing the Betfred logo when he takes to the field for the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Super League next month.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go","og_description":"Sonny Bill Williams will not be wearing the Betfred logo when he takes to the field for the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Super League next month.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2020-01-24T22:40:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-24T23:25:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1847,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/","name":"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-24T22:40:54+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-24T23:25:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Sonny Bill Williams will not be wearing the Betfred logo when he takes to the field for the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Super League next month.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SonnyBillWilliamsRWC1847SB15.jpg","width":1847,"height":1080,"caption":"Sonny Bill Williams\u2019 Toronto Wolfpack deal is the biggest in Super League history but the star is balking at the league\u2019s sponsor logo. (Image: lionsrugby)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rugby-star-sonny-bill-williams-says-betfred-logo-a-no-go\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sports Betting","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sports","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/sports\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Rugby Star Sonny Bill Williams Says Betfred Logo a No-Go Due to Religious Beliefs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}