Hundreds of footballers are considering legal action for using their likeness in FIFA 21, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gareth Bale.
Hundreds of FIFA 21 stars are said to be considering legal action over the use of their likeness in Electronic Arts’ football series.
Earlier this week, AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic questioned EA Sports’ right to use his image in its FIFA games.
He tweeted that no one should be able to sell or buy their image rights without his permission, claiming he was not a member of the global players union FifPro, one of the third parties EA is securing the image rights with.
Who has given FIFA EA Sport permission to use my name and face? @FIFPro
? I am unaware that I am a member of Fifpro and when I am I was taken there by some strange maneuver with no real knowledge.
And I certainly never allowed that @FIFAcom or Fifpro to make money with me– Zlatan Ibrahimovic (@Ibra_official) 23rd November 2020
In response to Ibrahimovic’s tweet, Tottenham Hotspur striker Gareth Bale wrote, “Interesting … what is FIFPro?” Before adding the hashtag #TimeToInvestigate.
.@Ibra_official Interesting … what is @FIFPro? 🤔 #TimeToInvestigate
– Gareth Bale (@ GarethBale11) 23rd November 2020
Ibrahimovic’s agent Mino Raiola shared The telegraph with that around 300 players are currently considering legal action over the use of their images in FIFA titles.
“It’s not an attack on the quality of EA Sports, it’s an attack on the system,” said Raiola. “The system is wrong and this is a fight that Zlatan wants to fight for all players. What will happen? We will fight until there is clarity and we will bring the fight to justice. “
In a statement, EA claimed it had contractually secured the right to include the similarity of all players in its titles through agreements with leagues, clubs and individual players, which Raiola denies.
“EA Sports statements are that they have made arrangements with people who have the rights, but it’s from people who say they have something they don’t,” the agent said. “It’s like you’re selling my house, but it’s not yours. What irritates me is that EA Sports has known that for a long time and that they have to stop burying their heads in the sand. “
“The question is very simple: Fifa and Fifpro benefit from the rights EA Sports likes to buy from them, but they buy rights they don’t. The individual image rights of the player do not belong to Fifa, FifPro or AC Milan. They belong to the player himself. “
EA Sports made the following statement:
“We are aware of the discussions about the licensing of players in EA SPORTS FIFA. The current situation unfolding on social media is an attempt to drag FIFA 21 into a dispute between a number of third parties and has little to do with EA SPORTS. To be very clear, we have the contractual right to include the portrait of all the players currently in our game. As already mentioned, we acquire these licenses directly from leagues, teams and individual players. “
“We also work with FifPro to make sure we can involve as many players as possible to create the most authentic game possible. In these cases, our rights to player characters are granted through our club contract with AC Milan and our longstanding exclusive partnership with the Premier League, which includes all Tottenham Hotspur players. “