Newcastle’s Papiss Cissé stands down in Wonga row

After a prolonged stand-off, Papiss Cissé has agreed to wear Newcastle United shirts bearing the Wonga logo next season and will resume training with Alan Pardew’s squad on Friday morning.

The Senegal striker had complained that Newcastle's new four year, £24m sponsorship with the payday loans company, which has most recently attracted the Archbishop of Canterbury's ire, offended both his Muslim faith and personal beliefs.

His initial refusal to wear Wonga branded kit saw Cissé left behind as Newcastle flew to Portugal for a pre-season training camp last week but thanks to lengthy, complex negotiations involving Imams, Islamic law specialists and the Professional Footballers' Association a dispute which some observers feared would end up being taken to a Premier League tribunal has finally been resolved.

Cissé became increasingly aware that neither Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner, or Wonga were prepared to countenance him wearing either charity or non-branded kit and his case appeared undermined earlier this week when photographs of him in a Tyneside casino, apparently gambling, were published.

Meanwhile, he was reminded that although the giving or receiving of interest is prohibited under Sharia Law, he was happy to wear the logo of Newcastle’s previous sponsors, Virgin Money last season. Moreover the breaking of a contract is frowned upon in Islam and Newcastle have made it clear Cissé has been very well looked after at St James’s Park, with the club even building a special prayer room at their training ground for the squad’s Muslim contingent.

While Wonga is a very different type of company from Virgin Money, Cisse's position was further weakened by his failure to make his objections plain when the sponsorship was first announced a year ago. It also did not help that fellow Muslims in Pardew's squad, including Hatem Ben Arfa, Cheik Tiote, Moussa Sissoko and MapouYanga-Mbiwa, all agreed to wear the Wonga kit.