The 30-second spot, which was created by Big Al's Creative Emporium, starred former 'Match of the Day' presenter Des Lynam dressed in a garish yellow Santa suit inside a grotto.
He was accompanied in the spot by a scantily dressed elf, played by actress Thaila Zucchi, who appeared on 'Big Brother 8' last year as a spoof contestant.
In the ad, which launched at the end of last year as part of a Christmas price promotion, a man is shown asking Des for live Barclays Premier League football.
When the man is asked if would like anything else, he stares at the woman's cleavage and replies "couple of puppies".
Des then remarks, "ah for the kids", and the man replies "yes, kids", while nodding and smiling.
The ad was deemed degrading to woman and sexist by 36 viewers, while 9 of those also said the Santa theme would attract the interest of children.
Setanta told the Advertising Standards Authority the ad was light-hearted and targeted at the female partners of male football fans.
It did not believe the ad objectified women, adding that it presented men in a simplistic and unsophisticated light.
The ad watchdog said it viewed the "puppies" reference as a mild sexual innuendo, and believed it would be seen as such by the majority of viewers.
It considered complaints that the Christmas theme would attract a child's attention, but dismissed them on the basis that Lynam and Zucchi were dressed in yellow.
The ASA ruled: "We considered even young children would notice that Santa looked different and may ask questions... even if they did ask questions, an innocent explanation could be given."
The ad, which you can view , was generally well received on Brand Republic, receiving three stars from the site's users.
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