Unfortunately we've become accustomed to certain member state governments imposing unfair restrictions on legal European betting firms, however last night, to our amazement, European football's governing body also got in on the act.

French club Lyon, were forced to abandon their shirt sponsor BetClic for their Champions League match in Madrid last night, after UEFA ordered them to remove the logo from their jerseys.

Considering the game was played in Spain, where advertising of online betting firms is permitted, it is puzzling to say the least that UEFA took this stance.  Amazingly, while Lyon were banned from promoting BetClic, their opponents, Real Madrid, were not ordered to do the same to their shirts which have the logo of Austrian betting operator Bwin  emblazoned across them.

The scenario where one club is banned from showing their partnership with a betting company, while the other is permitted, highlights the inconsistent and illogical nature of the current EU online betting environment.

Both clubs should have the right to display the logo of their sponsors, who after all are reputable, respectable, law-abiding institutions, who should not be treated as if they are anything but.

UEFA's actions in this instance are nothing short of farcical, and unsurprisingly, they've come in for some stinging criticism from BetClic's Chief Executive Nicolas Beraud who said:

"The Champions League is a European competition, so there is no reason to ban any advertising on the shirt of a team that participates in a European competition, on the grounds that the laws of the country where this team plays its national championships does not authorise this."

In a joint statement with Jean-Michael Aulas, the Lyon Chairman, which was released prior to last night's encounter,  Beraud went on to say:

"The game is in Madrid, where advertising of online gaming is permitted. There is currently no European law that prohibits advertising online gaming. Not to mention that Real Madrid will play with its usual sponsor [Bwin] which is an operator of online sports bets."

As Beraud said, UEFA's actions in this case "have no legal basis" and as of yet we're unsure as to why Lyon were forced to go logo-less in Madrid. We'll be making enquiries into why UEFA ordered them to do so, and we'll keep you up to date as to what we find.