Samsung has denied it's demanding athletes cover up their iPhones and other non-Samsung logos during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Samsung is heavily involved in the games, giving every athlete a Galaxy Note 3, sending a "Galaxy Team" of 80 athletes around the world on a large-scale marketing campaign, flying student bloggers to Sochi and releasing a Samsung Wireless Olympic Works app for fans.
But the Swiss Olympic team says the gift of a new Galaxy Note 3 comes with a catch: That no other logos, iPhone or otherwise, appear on-camera during the Opening Ceremony. Athletes - and only athletes - have even been instructed to physically cover their iPhones during the ceremony, SlashGear reported (the team originally spilled its guts to the German site Bluewin).
But Samsung has informed TechRadar that it has nothing to do with that.
Samsung responds
"Samsung has not been involved in any decisions related to branding on products used by athletes to the Games," a Samsung spokesperson told TechRadar. "All commercial marketing around the Games is overseen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)."
Whatever's really going on here, we'll know for sure when the Olympic Opening Ceremony kicks off Friday.
If all you see is Samsung logos, you'll know who to blame - according to Samsung, at least.
- The Galaxy S5 could soon steal the spotlight.
