What have EA Sports said?
Speaking to Forbes, an EA spokesperson distanced the company from the escalating feud, stating: “The licensing arguments being played out in social media for effect are not an issue for EA or EA Sports.
“This is between FIFPro, the players within their association and their representatives. FIFPro has told us this is their issue, and they’re handling it—we expect a statement to that effect imminently.
“This isn’t our fight. This isn’t about EA Sports or video games, players or fans.”
What did the players tweet?
On Monday evening, Ibrahimovic put out a tweet that claimed the video game series used his name and face without consent.
The 39-year-old said: “I am not aware to be a member of FIFPro and if I am I was put there without any knowledge through some weird manoeuvre.
“And for sure I never allowed FIFA or FIFpro to make money using me.”
Bale later responded to the post, writing, “Interesting… what is FIFPro?” before using the hashtag #TimeToInvestigate.
Are more players set to protest?
The Athletic has been told more leading players are likely to come forward.
There is, as it stands, no coordinated campaign but a significant number are planning to object.
What are the current rules?
FIFPro, the international players’ union, has a mandate to sell name and likeness rights on behalf of every player from a member nation.
In cases where a country is not a member of FIFPro or has a special arrangement with the union, player names and likenesses are either held by the individual players themselves, their clubs, the league their club belongs to, or the national federation.
For a football game to use the image rights of players, it must either need a specific agreement with their club or with the individual player. It does not acquire these rights via deals with a league.
Premier League clubs sell all their video game licensing rights collectively, with almost all intellectual property included — from player details to stadium names. Of Europe’s top five leagues, only Serie A has not collectivised its video game licensing rights.
There is some precedent. In June this year, 450 players in Brazil won a settlement of R$6.5million after the Union of Athletes of Santa Catarina brought a case against them in court.
(Photo: By Adam Davy via Getty Images)
