A dispute over player licenses in the game has erupted around FIFA 21. After Zlatan Ibrahimovic asked on Twitter who actually allowed his involvement in the game, advisor Mino Raiola furthered the discussion. What do the parties involved, such as EA and FIFPro, say about it?
For years, virtual football has been played in the FIFA series. The abundance of licenses that are part of the game has always been one of its greatest strengths. EA can acquire the real names and appearances of football players and clubs from around the world, with just a few exceptions.
However, a dispute has now arisen precisely over these licenses, concerning the legality of player representation.
This is what happened:
- It was reported that EA paid a “huge sum” to have David Beckham in the game – but EA denied the amount.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic asked on Twitter who actually allowed him to be in the game.
- The football legend Ibrahimovic criticized that money is being made with his name without permission.
- EA Sports later issued a statement saying that they have been working with leagues, teams, and talents for years to secure the rights. This includes the connection with FIFPro, which works with a number of licensors.
- Ibrahimovic stated on Twitter that he is not a member of FIFPro, or at least knows nothing about it. Spurs attacker Gareth Bale also tweeted: “Interesting – what is FIFPro?”
Advisor Raiola continues discussion on player rights
Who is Mino Raiola? Mino Raiola is the advisor of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and is known in the football world as a tough negotiator. He represents many other big names in world football, such as Paul Pogba and Dortmund star Erling Haaland.
This is what the advisor says: Raiola responded shortly after Ibrahimovic’s first tweet also via social media, saying: “I hope we get answers to our letters now” (via Twitter).
More tweets followed. Among other things, he accuses EA Sports of avoiding discussions with him for years regarding player rights. He also stated that neither FIFPro nor the club AC Milan possess the individual player rights (via Twitter).
Raiola continued the discussion in an interview with the British “Telegraph“. In the interview, he hinted that 300 more players alongside Bale and Ibrahimovic are interested in an investigation into the topic.
EA says: The dispute is not about them – a FIFPro problem
EA Sports responds to allegations: In a statement to “Forbes“, EA Sports addressed Raiola’s attack: “The license dispute conducted on social media is not a topic for EA or EA Sports. This is a matter between FIFPro, the players within their association, and their representatives. FIFPro has informed us that this is their problem, and they are dealing with it – we expect a clarification in this regard soon,” explained a spokesperson for EA.
EA Sports obtains a large part of the rights to represent players and their attributes from FIFPro. In the statement, EA Sports also talked about Mino Raiola. It’s not about EA Sports or video games, but rather a fight between football agents and FIFPro. The spokesperson also stated:
Mino Raiola is a respected player representative with whom we have collaborated for many years, including this year, when our relationship ensured that his client Erling Haaland would be part of our FIFA 21 marketing campaign. We also have a great collaboration with Zlatan Ibrahimović, who has been featured in every FIFA since 2002 and regularly receives awards within FUT.
EA Sports statement (via Forbes)
Raiola: “You are talking to a party that does not hold the rights”
At this point, the dispute was not over yet. In an interview on “talkSPORT” with Simon Jordan and Jim White, Raiola further elaborated the discussion. In a heated debate with Jordan, he noted that the statement from EA Sports was “nonsense” and that the company had been avoiding him on this issue for a long time.
The problem: From Raiola’s perspective, FIFPro does not have the basis to grant rights to EA Sports: “You are talking to a party that does not hold the player rights. Because FIFA does not hold them, and FIFPro does not hold them. The image rights belong only to the players,” says Raiola.
“That is why they also made a deal with, let’s say, Beckham. Because they have to make a deal with Beckham if they want to use his name,” claims Raiola. Beckham, unlike Ibrahimovic or Bale, is no longer an active player and recently made a deal with EA Sports.
The deal was supposed to involve huge sums, which have since been denied by EA Sports.
According to Raiola, EA Sports should also deal with Ibrahimovic in the same way: “Going to parties that claim they have [the rights], even though they know they do not, is wrong on both sides,” says Raiola.
Later in the interview, Raiola is asked why he has not obtained an injunction in all these years. He says, “Everything at the right time.” In the end, the discussion between Raiola and Jordan gets out of hand, and the advisor hangs up. Before that, he stated: “They [EA Sports] say they bought these rights, while we have been saying for years that these rights cannot be bought from these parties.”
There are clubs in FIFA 21 that have special regulations regarding licenses. This includes Juventus Turin, which is called “Piemonte Calcio” in the game, but still has all the players on board. With AC Milan, Ibrahimovic’s club, EA Sports even signed an exclusive contract this year.
FIFPro wants to reach out to players
What does FIFPro say? FIFPro, which ultimately acts as an intermediary regarding the rights between players and EA Sports, also addressed the issue. In a statement to the “Mirror“, they stated:
“In light of recent media reports, FIFPro wishes to clarify how it obtains the image rights of players and what role it plays in defending the working rights of professional footballers worldwide. FIFPro, a nonprofit organization, acquires the image rights through player unions in almost 60 countries. These rights are made available to Electronic Arts and other clients in the video game industry.”
FIFPro statement, via “Mirror“
The relationships between FIFPro and video game companies would complement separate agreements by clubs or leagues. The revenues generated would go to players, but also to legal advice or career planning and support: “FIFPro is reaching out to players and their representatives who have recently raised concerns so we can address their questions,” the statement said.
How does this dispute end? In total, this dispute involves three parties: the players and Raiola, EA Sports, and FIFPro. It needs to be clarified how the legal situation actually looks – after the question arose suddenly after several years.
The licensing issue is definitely an important matter for EA Sports, after all, the real names, clubs, and environments are one of the biggest strengths of the series.
To what extent the dispute will be resolved is still not visible at this point.
However, you can expect the next-gen upgrade for FIFA 21 in a short time. The game will then arrive in enhanced version on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
