Paddy Power advert which told Sepp Blatter to 'F*** off' cleared by watchdog

The Advertising Standards Authority has cleared an advert by bookmaker Paddy Power imploring Fifa president Sapp Blatter to “just f--k off already”.

The advert offered odds on the Fifa presidential election in a manner in-keeping with the bookmaker's audacious marketing strategy.

The ASA received a complaint that the expletive advert published in the national press, was likely to cause offence, a complaint that it has dismissed as:

The ad was intended to be a lighthearted comment on the ongoing allegations of corruption within Fifa, and in particular the controversy surrounding Sepp Blatter’s tenure as Fifa president.

In that context, we considered the use of “f**k” was unlikely to cause offence to readers.

Paddy Power said the advert reflected the “overwhelming sentiment” from football fans that Blatter should resign.

The Irish bookmakers had the most complained-about advert of last year, as the ASA received a record 5,525 complaints for their advert on the Oscar Pistorious verdict which offered “money back if he walks”.

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