Mbappe led a boycott among the French team of certain sponsors back in March because he did not want to be associated with particular brands. He has now opted out of a scheduled photoshoot.
French Football Federation announce they will review the situation surrounding players image rights after Kylian Mbappe ‘REFUSED to take part in the national team’s photoshoot on Tuesday’
Kylian Mbappe has refused to take part in a France National team photoshoot The forward made this decision as he is unhappy representing certain brands The France team are sponsored by major brands including Betclic and KFC Mbappe is uncomfortable being associated with betting and fast food brands He wants to renegotiate his image rights with the French Football Federation
By Sam Brookes For Mailonline
Published: 10:52 EDT, 19 September 2022 Updated: 19:42 EDT, 19 September 2022
The French Football Federation have released a statement confirming they will look into the situation surrounding players’ image rights after a long-running dispute threatened to explode on Tuesday.
The statement came after Kylian Mbappe had reportedly refused to take part in the France national team’s photoshoot on Tuesday over a long-running dispute with the French Football Federation (FFF) over image rights.
Their statement read: ‘Following conclusive discussions with the French team’s executives, the president, the coach and a marketing manager, the FFF has undertaken to revise, as soon as possible, the agreement on image rights that binds it to its national team players.’
It continued: ‘The FFF is looking forward to working on the outlines of a new agreement that will enable it to protect its interests while taking into consideration the legitimate concerns and convictions unanimously expressed by the players.’
Mbappe led a boycott among the French team of certain sponsors back in March as he did not want to be associated with particular brands.
He has now opted out of a scheduled photoshoot with the squad as he remains uncomfortable promoting certain sponsors including betting companies and fast food brands, as reported by Get French Football News.
The FFF struck an EUR8m (?7m) deal with online sports betting company Betclic last year, with that contract running through until the 2026 World Cup.
The federation also have ties with KFC, Uber Eats and Coca-Cola, which may be a concern for Mbappe.
All of the money that Mbappe earns from France sponsorships goes to charity, but the forward is believed to have stepped away from the photoshoot due to the moral and ethical issues that arise out of representing certain sponsors.
Mbappe’s grievances are understandable given his previous issues with betting companies in the past.
French betting company Winamax were widely condemned for a tweet that they sent out earlier this year of a football fan celebrating a goal by showing his bum to the crowd. Alongside the picture, their caption read: ‘Kylian Mbappe’s father celebrating his son’s goal against South Africa.’
Mbappe was far from impressed with their ill-judged tweet and responded by writing: ‘The danger of online betting… no longer having a limit. A little respect please.’
It is understood that Mbappe still wants to renegotiate the agreement over image rights with the FFF for national team players.
It was agreed back in 2010 after the national team’s disastrous World Cup that image rights would be distributed equally between the 23 members of each French squad.
However, Mbappe wants to see more of the team’s revenue going to grassroots football.
The FFF have refused to budge for now, but Mbappe’s refusal to take part in their latest photoshoot could force them into a re-think.
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