Cisse in shirt sponsor row

Newcastle's Papiss Cisse London - Arab Today Papiss Cisse has withdrawn from Newcastle United's pre-season tour of Portugal after refusing to wear club sponsor Wonga's logo on religious grounds. The Senegal striker, a Muslim, told club officials he was not prepared to promote Wonga, a firm which offers short-term, high-interest loans. Some interpretations of Islamic law forbid borrowing or paying money with interest. According to British newspaper, the Daily Mail, Cisse, who is estimated to earn in the region of £40,000 a week, trained on his own on his return from his summer break last week after refusing to wear the branded training kit, as well as the match day shirt, because it is against his religious beliefs. Former West Ham striker Frederic Kanoute - also a Muslim - was allowed by his Spanish club Sevilla to wear an unbranded shirt while they were sponsored by gambling company 888.com. However, 28-year-old Cisse did offer to wear an unbranded shirt or one bearing a charity logo instead. Other sports teams have made concessions to the faith of their Muslim players, with South Africa cricketer Hashim Amla allowed to wear shirts without the logo of team sponsor Castle Lager because of the Islamic prohibition on drinking alcohol. The BBC quoted sources saying Cisse's refusal to wear the sponsored shirt had left him in a "strained'' relationship with the Barclays Premier League side. Cisse's Newcastle teammates Cheick Tiote and Moussa Sissoko are also Muslim, but have told the club they have no issue with wearing the sponsor's logo. Speaking in June, deputy chief executive of the footballers union Bobby Barnes said: "We're all aware that clubs need to generate revenue and sometimes have to use a wide range of companies. However, if someone feels very, very strongly that it's not compatible with their beliefs, then some sort of solution should be found.'' Cisse joined the Magpies in January 2012 and has scored 26 times in all competitions. According to the Daily Mail, Tuesday night, after their opening pre-season win over Motherwell in Scotland, manager Alan Pardew announced he was taking his full squad to Portugal, including Cisse. But the striker was not on the flight which left Newcastle airport Wednesday and his absence has increased speculation that he could be forced to quit St James’s Park. Newcastle signed a £24million deal with Wonga to replace Virgin Money as Newcastle's sponsors last year to the dismay of many fans who were unhappy with the club being sponsored by a company which charges up to 5,853 percent annual interest on short term loans. Additional source: AFP