Samsung, one of the sponsors of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games that will take place in Sochi, Russia, during February 7th through February 23rd, will reportedly put its money to good use to ban iPhones and competing devices from the show. Specifically, the company has reportedly requested that athletes cover Apple and other logos during the opening ceremony, Bluewin reports, while using those devices to take pictures and record videos. The news has apparently been confirmed by the Swiss delegation.
Apparently, Samsung has been offering athletes free products including the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, a device that it will heavily advertise during the winter Olympics.
Furthermore, athletes may be banned from mentioning any personal sponsors during the Games, MacRumors says, according to a Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter that prevents them from mentioning sponsors who aren’t Olympic sponsors as well. Breaking such a rule could lead to harsh punishment including “removal of accreditation and financial penalties,” and even disqualification from the competition.
Samsung, which has already launched in some markets a special edition Galaxy Note 3 for the Winter Olympics, seems ready to take advantage of the International Olympic Committee’s confirmed interest in protecting the image of the sponsors that make the Games happen. However, the ban on Apple’s, and other companies’ logos is yet to be confirmed.
