赞助商反咬：“苏牙”世界杯场上咬人，场下荷包大出血

    苏亚雷斯在全世界人民的注视下咬人，赛后他发现自己摊上大事儿了。

    苏亚雷斯刚刚在周二的世界杯比赛场上咬伤了意大利队后卫吉奥吉奥•基耶利尼的肩膀，888扑克公司（Poker company 888）隔日就发表声明，宣布公司正重新审查与乌拉圭球员路易斯•苏亚雷斯的合作关系。

    这家公司在声明中表示：“在乌拉圭对意大利的世界杯比赛中，苏亚雷斯的行为遭到指控，888扑克公司正在严格审查与苏亚雷斯的合作关系，公司绝不容忍有违体育精神的行为发生。”

    这位咬人的乌拉圭球员效力于英超（English Premier League）的利物浦俱乐部（Liverpool），五月份刚刚成为888扑克公司的形象大使之一。除赞助商外，国际足联（FIFA）也启动了对苏亚雷斯的调查程序。

    除888扑克公司之外，苏亚雷斯与体育用品巨头阿迪达斯（Adidas）也有合作关系。虽然在国际足联的决定出台前，阿迪达斯并未明确表态，但苏亚雷斯很可能无法“咬”到这棵摇钱树了。

    阿斯达斯公司周三发表声明：“阿迪达斯公司担心路易斯•苏亚雷斯事件的负面影响，我们正等待国际足联对此事件的全面调查结果，之后再酌情处理。” （最新消息：阿迪达斯称不会终止与苏亚雷斯的赞助合约，在之后的世界杯营销中将不再出现其形象。——编注）

    “苏亚雷斯可谓劣迹斑斑，刚从过去的咬人风波和种族歧视事件中恢复过来，又陷入世界杯“咬人门”。最新咬人事件后，他便惨遭俱乐部、粉丝和赞助商抛弃，”英国著名品牌价值顾问公司——品牌财经（Brand Finance）的CEO大卫•哈埃在邮件中说。“苏亚雷斯的所作所为彻底破坏了他的个人形象，这是无论多么精湛的球技都无法修复的。即将发生的公关灾难会让他的品牌价值大大降低。”

    加利福尼亚贝克街（Baker Street）广告公司的体育营销专家鲍伯•多尔夫曼也说，路易斯•苏亚雷斯这个名人品牌已经“毫无价值”。“他现在是一名身负严重问题的运动员，已经无法赢得赞助商的信任。不仅如此，如果他遭到重罚（非常有可能），我们可能在很长一段时间内无法在世界杯或英超联赛的绿茵场上看到他了。”

    有关裁定可能会在周六乌拉圭队与哥伦比亚队的比赛之前出台。（最新消息：国际足联纪律委员会宣布，苏亚雷斯禁赛9场国际比赛，禁止参加一切足球活动4个月，同时罚款10万瑞士法郎——编注。）这次的咬人事件之前，苏亚雷斯在2010和2013年也曾两次咬人，招惹了不少麻烦。

    苏亚雷斯的个人形象危机让我们联想到很多类似事件——不少备受瞩目的运动员都曾因此失去代言机会。著名的例子包括老虎•伍兹的情妇事件，兰斯•阿姆斯特朗兴奋剂丑闻，以及麦克•泰森拳击生涯中多次发生的被逮捕事件等。（财富中文网）

    译者：Joseph

    The assailant in the bite witnessed around the world is finding himself in more than a lick of trouble.

    Poker company 888 said on Wednesday that it is reviewing its sponsorship deal with Uruguay soccer player Luis Suarez after he allegedly bit Italian defender Giorgi Chiellini’s shoulder during a World Cup game Tuesday.

    “Following the allegations made against Luis Suarez in regards to his behavior during Uruguay’s World Cup match against Italy, 888poker is seriously reviewing its relationship with the player as we will not tolerate any unsporting behavior,” the company said in a statement.

    The Uruguayan, who plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League, became one of the company’s brand ambassadors just last month. Separately, FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Suarez.

    Meanwhile, Suarez, who has a sponsorship deal with sports gear maker Adidas, may have trouble sinking his teeth into any more lucrative deals with them in the future, although the company played coy in its own statement ahead of FIFA’s decision.

    “Adidas is aware of the issue involving Luis Suarez. We await FIFA’s full investigation into this matter and will respond accordingly,” the company said Wednesday.

    “Before the World Cup Luis Suarez brand was recovering from his previous biting and racist abuse incidents. After the latest episode he has made himself toxic to clubs, fans and sponsors,” said David Haigh, the CEO of Brand Finance, a brand valuation consultancy firm based in the U.K., via email. “He brings brands into disrepute and however good his playing skills may be his personal brand will never recover. He is a PR disaster waiting to happen and has drastically reduced his personal brand value.”

    Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert for the California advertising firm Baker Street, added that the Luis Suarez brand has “bit the dust.” He continued, “This is an athlete with serious issues, who cannot be trusted by his sponsors. And with major punishment likely, we may not be seeing him on a soccer pitch — World Cup or English Premier League – for quite a while.”

    A ruling is expected to be announced ahead of Uruguay’s game against Colombia on Saturday. Suarez also found himself in trouble for pervious biting incidents both in 2010 and 2013.

    Suarez’s brand debacle comes in light of numerous other high-profile athletes who lost endorsements due to foul play, including Tiger Woods after being found to have mistresses, Lance Armstrong for doping and Mike Tyson for being arrested numerous times throughout his career.