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What happened?
A number of France national team stars are embroiled in a heated dispute with the country’s football federation after their images were used without their knowledge in an advertising campaign by a sports betting company, in a new crisis that threatens to reopen an image rights file that was thought to be closed forever.
French newspaper L’Equipe has revealed that Kylian Mbappe and Ryan Chergy have expressed strong displeasure over the use of their photos in an advertising campaign for a sports betting company, along with three other players – Desiree Doue, Michael Olis and Ousmane Dembele – in an incident that sparked “outrage just days before the World Cup kick-off”.
Controversial photo session
Details of the crisis return last Tuesday, when a number of France national team players took part in a photo session organized by the French Football Federation at the Clairefontaine training center as part of a day for the federation’s commercial partners.
A few days after that session, the five players were surprised by the company’s launch of an online advertising campaign that openly used their images to promote sports betting services, prompting immediate outrage among those involved.
According to L’Equipe newspaper, the five players confirmed that they were never informed of the party that would use their images, stressing that they did not agree to have their names associated with any sports betting advertising campaign.
Mbappe and Chirkey appeared to be the most disaffected of the group, given their well-known and outspoken stance against certain industries, particularly sports betting and the promotion of fast food, a stance the France captain has long publicly defended in the past.
