JOIN USUEFA asks teams not to remove drinks after others follow Ronaldo snub
Players from the 24 participating teams in the Euro 2020 have been requested not to push aside strategically placed sponsor drinks during press conferences by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) after Cristiano Ronaldo’s cold shoulder to Coca-Cola was followed by a couple more snubs.
After Ronaldo pushed aside two bottles of the aerated beverage out of frame at a press meet, which may have resulted in some financial pain to the soft-drink company, Italian midfielder Manuel Locatelli and French footballer Paul Pogba also brushed aside drinks from sponsors placed on the panel for visibility.
While Locatelli slightly readjusted the positioning of two Coca-Cola bottles, Pogba, a practising Muslim who does not drink, removed a Heineken bottle from the panel he was seated at.
Both Coca-Cola and beer maker Heineken are among the 12 top-tier sponsors who contribute to UEFA’s tournament revenue pool of almost $2.4 billion.
Read more: In shunning cola, Ronaldo has set the cat among pigeons
The 24 national federations taking part in the Euro 2020 will share part of the UEFA prize money, which usually goes towards player bonuses. A significant portion will also go towards compensating players and clubs for lending their time for the tournament.
"It is important because the revenues of the sponsors are important for the tournament and for European football,” Euro 2020 Martin Kallen said in a statement to the press, adding that UEFA had communicated with the teams regarding the matter.
Kallen did say that concessions would be made if players had serious religious objections with the bottles being on the panel and added that no players would be fined directly. However, he did not rule out fines outright.
"We have regulations signed by the participating federations. We have reminded them of their obligations but of course, this (fining) is always a possibility," he said.