Here’s why West Ham didn’t have sponsors on their shirts on Thursday night

It’s a couple of weeks before the Premier League returns, but West Ham’s season is already up and running.

Slaven Bilic and his players made the trip to Slovenian side NK Domzale on Thursday night as they attempt to qualify for the Europa League.

The first leg of their qualifier ended in disappointment however, as the Hammers ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.

But football aside, West Ham’s kits were one of the major talking points of the night for many a Hammer.

Observant fans noted that the shirts being worn by their team were free of sponsors and the players’ names, leading some to suggest that the West Ham kit man was still lying on a beach somewhere in Spain.

The West Ham kit man is obviously still on holiday – no names and no sponsor on shirts @TrueColoursKits @KitCrimes pic.twitter.com/viwTfgwE52

— Cooper Senior (@david_g_cooper) July 28, 2016

The sight of sponsor-free shirt proved popular with supporters…

I need that West Ham top without the sponsor on it what they wore tonight

— Max (@maximumbbk) July 28, 2016

https://twitter.com/reecetop10/status/758759300001038338

https://twitter.com/whufcphotos/status/758749438038843393

Unfortunately for them, it seems the absence of a sponsor was a temporary measure.

According to the Essex Chronicle, As stipulated by Uefa, clubs aren’t allowed to advertise gambling companies on their football shirts, meaning that sponsors Betway’s logo was missing from the shirt worn by the players in Slovenia.

As for why there were no player names on the back of the shirts, we’ve no idea what was going on there.

West Ham face Chelsea in their Premier League opener, making the trip to Stamford Bridge on the first Monday of the new season. At time of writing, we still don’t know fans will be able to pick sponsor free kit come August.