Fans have found that much of the marketing material on the EA site for FIFA 19 has Ronaldo removed from it. This is possibly due to the rape allegations against the Juventas player. EA has released a statement on those allegations, but nothing on removing the football star from the cover of its latest game.
Reddit users have discovered that Cristiano Ronaldo has been removed from the various parts of the EA Sports website. Many digital store-fronts, however, still have an image of the soccer player. EA has recently made an official statement on the allegations to various outlets.
The publisher has said that it is “closely monitoring the situation.” The company went on further to say that it expects its cover athletes to “conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA’s values.” But no moves have been made to completely remove Ronaldo from its marketing of the latest entry to the football franchise.
In addition to EA, Nike has also spoken out on the issue. The Oregon-based company’s statement reads:
“We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
This makes two major corporations that have shown concern over the Juventus star’s alleged misconduct. However, apart from these statements, no other action has been made by Ronaldo’s sponsors.
These allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo surfaced recently after a 2009 investigation on the player was re-opened. Kathryn Mayorga, the victim, says that the former Real Madrid star forced her to have sex with him in 2009 in Las Vegas. She has further stated that she reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo over the alleged incident. However, the Guardian adds that “her lawyers say that Ronaldo did not fulfill one of the terms of the settlement, and the agreement was therefore void.” Consequently, she has gone public with her allegations against the football star.
[Image Source: Reddit]
