Two Italian Clubs Drop Jersey Sponsor Over Non-Payment of Contracts

Two clubs in Italy’s Serie A sported slightly different looks over the weekend after dropping the logo of their main sponsor from their shirts due to non-payment of their sponsorship contracts.

Prior to this weekend, both AS Roma and Inter Milan sported the logo of blockchain company DigitalBits on the front of their shirts. But both clubs dropped the company after they missed contract payments.

Inter Milan played in blank shirts in a 3-1 win over SS Lazio on Sunday, April 30, while AS Roma replaced the logo with the initials “SPQR” in a 1-1 draw against AC Milan on Saturday, April 29.

Courtesy @Inter_en / Twitter

Courtesy @OfficialASRoma / Twitter

According to Footy Headlines, “SPQR” stands for “Senatus PopulusQue Romanus” (“The Senate and the People of Rome”). The acronym “appears on Roman currency, at the end of documents made public by an inscription in stone or metal, and in dedications of monuments and public and civil works,” according to Wikipedia, and the full phrase “appears in Roman political, legal, and historical literature”.

It has appeared on Roma kits before as well, with the last time being in a Rome derby against Lazio in 2017.

Courtesy Chiesa di Totti

According to La Gazzetta della Sport, Inter Milan took action after they “did not receive even one of the three installments of €8 million each,” along with a bonus of €1.5 million for reaching last season’s Coppa Italia final. That brings the total amount owing to the club to €25.5 million. The contract with DigitalBits reportedly runs until the end of the 2025 season, but Inter Milan will try to find a new sponsor right away.

Meanwhile, journalist Filippo Biafora of Il Tempo tweeted on Friday, April 28, that DigitalBits missed a payment due to AS Roma on March 31, resulting in the logo being dropped from their shirt.

L’#ASRoma sospende la presenza dello sponsor #Digitalbits sulla maglia della prima squadra: il 31 marzo non è stato rispettato il pagamento di una tranche prevista dall’accordo. Richiesta alla Lega per giocare domani con la scritta “SPQR”@tempoweb pic.twitter.com/4GRwjLUV8G
— Filippo Biafora (@Fil_Biafora) April 28, 2023

The 2022-23 season was the first for the partnership between DigitalBits and Inter Milan, and the second in the partnership between the company and AS Roma.

Football Italia reports that DigitalBits responded in a press release:

“Digitalbits foundation has undertaken a proactive process for the redefinition of partnerships that will involve the Digitalbits brand in the future, in line with the objectives of economic sustainability and use of blockchain technology.
“The sponsorship contracts regarding the exposure of the Digitalbits brand with the football teams Roma and Inter were concluded with Zytara labs. Digitalbits foundation represents the community and ecosystem aimed at promoting blockchain technology and its use.”
— DigitalBits press release via Football-Italia.net

DigitalBits describes itself on its website as “blockchain for brands” and “open-source decentralized infrastructure that supports fast and affordable asset transfers.”

Inter Milan and AS Roma will face each other in Serie A action on Saturday, May 6.

UPDATE (Thursday, May 4): Inter Milan debuted away kits without the DigitalBits logo on Wednesday, May 3, in a Serie A match against Hellas Verona. Inter won the match 6-0.