Samsung Demands Olympic Athletes Cover Up the Apple Logo on their iPhones for Opening Ceremony

Samsung is giving athletes at the Sochi 2014 Olympics a free Galaxy Note 3 but that comes with a catch, according to a report from Bluewin and relayed by SlashGear.

As a condition of the gift, Samsung is demanding that athletes cover up the Apple logo on their iPhone so its not visible during the opening ceremonies. The guidelines were revealed by the Swiss Olympic team.

They were pleased to discover the Note 3 in among the other promotional kit sponsors have been offering, Bluewin reports, but the phone came with guidelines on what Samsung is said to be requiring in return for its financial support. The rule only appears to apply to athletes, rather than anybody else attending the opening ceremony.


Whether athletes will adhere to Samsung's guidelines remains unclear. However, it probably wouldn't be good publicity for Samsung to reclaim a device from someone who ignored their demand.

There has been uproar of late over IOC Rule 40 that prohibits Olympians from mentioning or promoting any sponsor during the Olympic Games unless that sponsor is an official Olympic sponsor. It's said that only about two percent of Olympians are sponsored by official sponsors.

Update:
IOC says athletes do not have to cover the Apple logos.

Read More [via SlashGear]