No peace for Jim Ratcliffe: Mr. Ineos angers even rugby’s All Blacks

There really seems to be no peace for now for oil industry billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, tycoon of Ineos, already the protagonist of the controversy with Sir Ben Ainslie that will almost certainly have legal ramifications. Indeed, a new legal front concerning Ineos is coming from New Zealand, this time opening it is New Zealand Rugby, the organization that manages all the activities of the national Rugby teams in New Zealand, including the legendary All Blacks, of which Ineos was a sponsor.

New Zealand Rugby sues Ineos

The accusation is stark and leaves no room for interpretation, so reads an official statement from New Zealand Rugby:

“New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is upset that INEOS has breached its sponsorship agreement. Recently, the first installment of the 2025 sponsorship fee was not paid, confirming the decision to withdraw from our six-year agreement. After learning of INEOS’ line to leave three years early, we moved to protect the interests of New Zealand Rugby and the game in general. We were left with no choice but to take legal action to protect our business position,” the statement reads.

Ineos’ response was not long in coming:

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“Ineos is grateful for the sponsorship opportunity with New Zealand Rugby, having contributed more than $30 million to national teams in recent years. However, business conditions for our European operations have been severely affected by high energy costs and taxes, along with much of the chemical industry in Europe, which is struggling or closing. We are witnessing the deindustrialization of Europe. As a result, we had to implement cost-saving measures throughout the company. We tried to reach a reasonable agreement with the All Blacks to adapt our sponsorship in light of this situation. Unfortunately, rather than work toward a managed solution, New Zealand Rugby chose to take legal action against its sponsor.”

Irritating the New Zealanders would also have been The fact that Ratcliffe has recently increased, in December 2024, his ownership stake in Manchester United, a historic club that plays in the English Premier League of soccer, and at the same time the tycoon seems very determined to continue with large investments also in the America’s Cup and Formula 1 worlds, as well as in cycling.

What happened between Ineos and Ben Ainslie.

We had once loved each other so much. It seemed almost impossible for two such strong personalities as the patron and Sir to manage to live together for two challenges in a row without sparks flying, and eventually the marriage exploded into accusations and probable lawsuits. Ratcliffe, accusing Ainslie of making him spend millions upon millions by reaping at least two embarrassments (Bermuda and Auckland), and straightening out the last challenge in the process. Ainslie, allergic to patron interference and critical of the role of Mercedes designers within the British design team. Recall that Ratcliffe owns 33 percent of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, as well as 25 percent of Manchester United in the Premier Leaugue and is also involved in cycling.

In fact, Ainslie bemoaned the fact that Mercedes engineers have never been able to make a boat that was truly competitive at the highest level, and posited the need for a change in method. During the final against the New Zealanders, Ainslie barely concealed his frustration at having a significantly slower boat. Ratclife reacted with the most classic of ” the money is mine and I decide, also because you’ve made me spend enough of it already,” and it also seems that there was no agreement on which should be the main sponsor of the next challenge, with Ben Ainslie pressing for the entry of other partners. This brings us to the final days.

The question now, however, is one: who is the Challenge of Record for the British? Jim Ratcliffe ‘s challenge or Ben Ainslie’s challenge? The challenge in the America’s Cup is represented by the Yacht Club that launches it, not the sponsor, and it would be logical to think that the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes would be on Ben Ainslie’s side, as the Baronet otherwise states. We will know more in the coming months.

Mauro Giuffrè

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