UEFA investigates Ronaldo over unfair advertising practices

Cristiano Ronaldo faces charges of “false advertising” after sharing his heart rate data on social media during Portugal’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Slovenia at Euro 2024.

This illegal practice involves a company attempting to associate its products or services with an event that already has official sponsors. A notable example occurred during Euro 2012 when Nicklas Bendtner lifted his shirt while celebrating a goal to reveal a pair of Paddy Power branded underwear.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s heart rate was tracked during yesterday’s match. Surprisingly, it was at its lowest when he took Portugal’s first penalty in the shootout 😮‍💨

Talk about composure 🥶️🇵🇹

[Via @WHOOP] pic.twitter.com/gTl8F7svqR

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) July 2, 2024

The Danish player was fined £80,000 and given an international ban by UEFA.

In this case, Ronaldo’s partnership with fitness company WHOOP, which designs wearable devices that track a range of metrics including heart rate, athletic performance and sleep scores, was highlighted.

The 39-year-old is wearing one of its devices during Euro 2024, and the company released his heart rate data on Tuesday after Portugal’s penalty shootout win.

However, according to Ricardo Fort – former head of global sponsorships for Visa and Coca-Cola – the post was a clear example of unfair advertising and should be met with a fine for both the player and the company.

“This chart was released today. It is illegal and both the player and the company should be fined,” he wrote on the X website.

“The post is about a UEFA match, and uses the names of the participating national teams, the score and the player on the pitch,” he added in response to users’ questions on the platform.

It implies a connection to the event and that is illegal. The lack of a “competitor as sponsor” is no reason to tolerate violations.

Fort went on to claim that if the data had been collected during a home training session, in his view, there would not be a problem now.

The WHOOP post showed the former Manchester United star “going into a flow state and his heart was racing” shortly before he scored the first of Portugal’s three penalties in the shootout.

Source: ertnews.gr

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