According to a report by The Athletic, Gareth Bale is set to be joined by thousands of other footballers from across the globe in objecting to the use of their likenesses in the popular FIFA video game series.
The issue hit the limelight a few days ago when AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic tweeted claiming the video game series used his name and face without permission.
Who gave FIFA EA Sport permission to use my name and face? @FIFPro? I’m not aware to be a member of Fifpro and if I am I was put there without any real knowledge through some weird manouver.
And for sure I never allowed @FIFAcom or Fifpro to make money using me— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) November 23, 2020
Bale then responded to the Swede’s post, writing, “Interesting… what is FIFPro?” before using the hashtag #TimeToInvestigate.
.@Ibra_official Interesting… what is @FIFPro? 🤔 #TimeToInvestigate
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) November 23, 2020
The Athletic report that the international players’ union, FIFAPro, has the mandate to sell name and likeness rights on behalf of every player from a member nation.
For a game to use the image rights of players, a specific agreement is required either with their club or with the individual player.
However, all of Europe’s top five leagues expect the Serie A reportedly sell their video game licensing rights collectively.
It is revealed that both EA Sports and FIFAPro refused to comment on the matter when contacted by the publication.
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