After signing a lucrative sponsorship deal with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Real Madrid football club decided to drop the small Christian cross surmounting the royal crown on its official crest (see near left). The revised crest, pictured far right, was unveiled at a ceremony in the Gulf. The move was read as a gesture to Muslim fans in the region. Outside United Arab Emirates, however, the cross will remain as part of the logo. Tablet contributor Jimmy Burns, who has written a history of Real Madrid – founded in 1902 – told us the cross was introduced in the 1920s but then removed during the Second Spanish Republic and the civil war in 1930s. It was restored following General Franco’s victory in 1939. “It seems a pity that the club’s ditching of a long-s