Court tells Evergrande to pay $3.8 mln in damages for ad switch

GUANGZHOU -- Two-time Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao has been told to pay a Chinese-Japanese joint venture 24,778,645 yuan ($3.8 million) in damages for changing their kit in the 2015 AFC Champions League final.

Evergrande said on Wednesday that they had received the ruling by Guangzhou Huadu District People's Court on June 7.

Wuhan-based Dongfeng Nissan, which paid more than 100 million yuan (16 million) for the 2014-2015 rights to Evergrande's apparel, launched legal action against the club for changing their shirts for the second leg of the 2015 final in which Everngrande beat Al Ahli of the UAE 1-0.

The official red shirts were emblazoned with Dongfeng Nissan's name in Chinese, along with a car model number.

But when the team took to the field, the ad on the shirts was changed to the Chinese name of Evergrande Life, an insurance company affiliated to Evergrande.