REAL Madrid has signed an exclusive clothing merchandise deal with a firm in the United Arab Emirates – but has removed the cross from its logo for the purpose as it is 'too Christian'.
Marka, based in the UAE, has acquired the sole rights to manufacture, distribute and sell Real Madrid FC products in its home country as well as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
Its deputy chairman Khaled al-Mheiri said the cross would be removed from the coat of arms 'due to cultural sensitivity'.
“We have to be careful with Gulf regions which are sensitive to products bearing a Christian-like cross,” says al-Mheiri, who owns a Real Madrid-themed café in Dubai.
Most of the countries Marka will be selling reproductions of the football club's shirts, swimwear and polo T-shirts to have a majority Muslim population, al-Mheiri explains.
Sales will start in March, although merchandise sold in the city of Dubai will bear the full logo, cross included.
Real Madrid did not answer a request to remove the cross, sent by email, immediately, but this is not the first time it has had to alter its coat of arms.
When the club was sponsored by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in 2014, it had to take the cross off its logo then.
Real Madrid is still sponsored by IPIC, an Abu Dhabi-based investment fund, although its official sponsor is Emirates Airlines, which has its head office in Dubai.
