Portsmouth authorities announced Monday they were reviewing plans to repaint the English city’s main landmark in the colours of a rival city’s football team, following an outcry.
In a sponsorship deal, the city council planned to paint the Spinnaker Tower in the red and white colours of Dubai-based airline Emirates, infuriating fans of blue-shirted Portsmouth Football Club.
As part of a £3.5 million (Dh19.6m) deal over five years with Portsmouth City Council, the plan was for the 170-metre plain white viewing tower to be repainted as part of a naming rights agreement with Emirates.
However, the Emirates colours are the same as those of Southampton Football Club — Portsmouth’s bitter rivals on the English south coast.
Following an online petition which attracted nearly 10,000 supporters, the city council announced a review of the plan, to better reflect the city’s own football team and its status as the home port of the Royal Navy, from which the colour navy blue originated.
“I have been extremely worried and concerned about the strong public response,” said council leader Donna Jones.
“I love Portsmouth Football Club, the Royal Navy and our heritage. I fully understand people’s feelings about blue being the city’s colour and the city emblem.
“After working with Emirates over the weekend … we are working up a new design for the tower. The design will reflect the city’s heritage.”
Portsmouth FC fan Alex Judd, who started the petition, said the branding deal “flies in the face” of the city.
It would be “incredible” to allow the colours of “the city’s fiercest rivals” to “stand tall” on the city’s most prominent landmark.
He voiced his relief Monday.
“In just under a weekend, we’ve made our voices heard and stopped the shambles of the red and white,” he said.
Southampton are an established Premier League side, having spent the bulk of the past 35 years in English football’s top flight.
Portsmouth were in the Premier League as recently as 2010, when they suffered the first of three relegations aided by points deductions for going into financial administration, and they now play in League Two — English football’s fourth-tier.
The club is now controlled by its supporters after a series of financial collapses under several different foreign owners.
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