Crystal Palace in this Premier League season have had a seesaw like momentum going into the second half. Starting the season impressively on the back of a 19-game unbeaten streak, they find themselves 13th position in the points table.
They are winless in their last 9 games now, following a disappointing exit from the FA Cup recently. The Eagles lost to Macclesfield, a team of semi professional footballers, competing in the sixth tier of English football pyramid.
Macclesfield were running away with the win after a 2-goal lead from their midfielders Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley Ricketts, in minutes 43′ and 60′ respectively. Yeremy Pino came late to the rescue for the Eagles, as he converted a free kick in the 90th minute of the game, but that was not enough to push the game to extra time.
Although the squad on paper was way superior to their opponents, it was not their best. Crystal Palace tested their bench strength, with youngsters given the go to play up the pitch to prove their worth.
Joel Drakes-Thomas was one of them and would have caused a complicated legal issue for Crystal Palace, if the result was any different. The teenager at 16 years of age, even though would have dreamt of wearing the Crystal Palace shirt, should not have worn it by regulations.
Crystal palace signed a two year deal with their kit sponsor Net88 in 2024, replacing their previous sponsor cinch. The Net88 are a Vietnamese based online gaming platform, where several betting odds based games are available to play.
Facing criticism previously for their approach of donning a betting company in their shirt, Palace failed to make a significant effort in removing them while they let Drakes-Thomas play.
The issue is that according to the regulations of FA in allowing sponsors name in the kit, the club has to make sure that any gambling related company’s name should be removed in the jersey of youth team players and players under the age of 18.
Palace to be expelled from the FA Cup for gambleising a teenager. pic.twitter.com/QXT1LPsDml
— Winging It: A Crystal Palace Podcast (@WingingItCPFC) January 10, 2026
While Joel Drakes-Thomas was just 16, he appeared with the main kit, featuring their sponsor Net88 in his jersey. This would have caused some regulatory complications for Crystal Palace, and the club could have been expelled from the competition have they not exited already.
Regardless, what do you think of the regulation of not allowing sensitive sponsorships on the kit of youth players? Is it too biased considering the FA itself promotes betting companies in advertising boards. Or is it necessary to prevent unfortunate gambling scandals.
