Papiss Cisse accused of hypocrisy after casino visit

Papiss Cisse had dropped out of Newcastle’s pre-season trip to Portugal after refusing to wear the club’s shirt sponsorship logo Wonga. Due to his religious beliefs, the Senegalese striker arguably refused to wear the money-lending company’s logo as he was not prepared to promote Wonga, citing his religion, and instead offered to wear an unbranded shirt or one branding a charity’s logo of his choice.

However, the former Bundesliga striker has apparently given up his moral high ground in spectacular fashion. A man who is claimed to be Cisse has been pictured on Twitter playing Blackjack at a casino. A major tabloid reports that the photo was taken by Newcastle fan Andrew McNally at the Aspers casino in Newcastle, with the fan claiming that the star was happy to chat about the upcoming fixtures while staking some money on hands of Blackjack.

Madou Diene, the player’s agent, has reiterated and stated that Cisse is not and was not a gambler, while a spokesperson for Aspers Casino has commented and described Cisse as “an occasional visitor” who was “very well behaved and very welcome”, but they would not confirm whether or not he placed any bets.

Newcastle city councillor, Dipu Ahad, who previously defended Cisse’s stance against wearing Wonga’s logo feels absolutely ashamed and disappointed.