Paddy Power in trouble over Luis Suarez press ad

An advert for gambling firm Paddy Power placed in a national newspaper has been banned by the UK advertising regulator as it was deemed "socially irresponsible" for featuring a footballer who was under 25.

A complainant contacted the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the ad, seen in The Sun on October 15, which promised "money-back" if Liverpool player Luis Suarez scored in the game against Manchester United.

The ad featured a picture of Uruguayan footballer Suarez, and the complainant was concerned that it was "socially irresponsible" because he is under 25.

Paddy Power and News International, publisher of The Sun, confirmed that Suarez was 24 years old at the time the picture was taken, but denied that the ad would "encourage young people to gamble" on the basis of his age or image.

The companies attempted to argue that Suarez was the subject of the bet, as a professional footballer, rather than being connected with the act of gambling.

But the ASA pointed to the advertising code rules which state that gambling services "should not feature those under 25 years of age gambling or playing a significant role".

"At the time the ad appeared, Luis Suarez was 24 years old. We noted Paddy Power believed that because he was the subject of the bet, Suarez was not playing a significant role in relation to the act of gambling," said the regulator.

"However, we considered that because he was pictured individually and was the focus of the ad, he was likely to be seen by consumers to be playing a significant role."

The ASA banned the ad, and warned Paddy Power not to feature anyone under 25 again in their gambling ads in such prominent roles

This is not the first time that Paddy Power's advertising has fallen foul of the regulators, as a TV ad featuring a cat being kicked into a tree by a blind footballer was the most complained-about commercial of 2010.

The ad racked up 1,313 complaints, making it third on the UK's all-time most complained about TV ads.

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