Barcelona’s club members ratified the $230 million, five-year shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation and voted to ban smoking at Camp Nou.
The team shirt began bearing the Qatar Foundation logo this season, but the club’s general assembly needed to approve the agreement.
The decision to sell advertising space on its jersey for the first time in the club’s 112-year history had brought strong criticism from former president Joan Laporta and former player and coach Johan Cruyff.
But 697 members voted yes to the deal late Saturday, while only 76 voted no and 36 abstained.
McClatchy news services
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