MANCHESTER CITY have sacked the PR firm responsible for recruiting male-only social media influencers to promote the Etihad Stadium, after they were accused of sexism.
The Premier League champions used the app Tribe in a bid to fill the seats in their stadium and spread the word via Instagram-famous stars.
City described the rest of their Champions League group as “relatively unknown”, but incredibly that wasn’t even the biggest insult in the ad.
The PR firm – PHD Media Manchester – put out an advert looking for “males 18-55yrs”, popular on Instagram and Facebook.
In the post they claimed “core fans are less likely to attend” the Champions League games but still wanted to “get across the great atmosphere of the Etihad”.
But they were instantly hit with a wave of replies accusing them of sexist behaviour.
Blogger Beth Worrall tweeted: “Imagine needing influencers to promote the ‘atmosphere’ at your football club. And only wanting men to do it.”
Ami Ford tweeted: “Man City are looking to pay influencers to promote their ‘great’ atmosphere at the Etihad.
“Thought it couldn’t get any worse but they’re only looking for men too! Didn’t know girls couldn’t like football. Embarrassing!”
City later revealed they were “extremely disappointed” with the ad and a spokesperson told SunSport the post “does not express the views of the club.”
The club claimed an agency was engaged without the club’s knowledge or permission and they have contacted the agency to remove it.
But PHD Media Manchester have now been fired, with City disappointed with the firm’s unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions.
