A newspaper advert featuring boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr that encouraged readers to "always bet on black" has been banned.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled the Paddy Power ad was "likely to cause serious offence on the grounds of race". The bookmaker has been warned not to make a similar mistake in the future.
Paddy Power said it did not believe the advertisement was derogatory, distasteful or offensive.
The advert was used ahead of Mayweather's recent controversial fight against reigning mixed martial artist champion, Conor McGregor.
In its ruling, the ASA said: "We acknowledged that the headline claim did not make a negative statement about Floyd Mayweather's race and had endorsed him to win the match. We also acknowledged that he had authorised the claim. However, we considered that readers would nevertheless be offended by the invitation to always bet on the outcome of a boxing match based on a boxer's race, and the message that the boxing match was a fight."
