Muslim spinner given leave to keep a sponsor off his back

Fawad Ahmed will raise a hard-earned thirst in the one-day cricket series against England this week, but he will not promote the product his teammates will as a way to quench it.
Ahmed, one of two Australian Muslims to play on the ''VB Tour of England'', was picked for the five-game limited overs series after he made his debut in the Twenty20 series last week.
The spin bowler...''expressed discomfort'' about wearing the logo of one of Cricket Australia's two major sponsors because, on religious grounds, he does not associate with alcohol.
Mike McKenna, CA's executive general manager operations, said the parties were ''respectful of Fawad's personal beliefs'' and agreed to his request to wear an unbranded shirt.
''Cricket Australia would have weighed this up seriously,'' Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive Paul Marsh said. ''They would have thought about the precedent it could set. But I commend them and Carlton United for taking an approach that allowed the player to not contravene his personal beliefs.''
There are no provisions in cricketers' contracts for objections to sponsors' logos. However, Marsh said, ''If a player has reasonable personal or professional objection … they would allow the player to be exempt. That's what has been extended to Fawad. They came to a very reasonable agreement."...
....English Premier League footballer, Papiss Cisse, a Muslim, recently refused on religious grounds to wear his Newcastle team shirt featuring a sponsor, whose business is to offer short-term loans. South African cricketer Hashim Amla, also a Muslim, was exempted from wearing a beer brand logo on his shirt.
http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/muslim-spinner-given-leave-to-keep-a-sponsor-off-his-back-20130902-2t13m.html