Forty eight teams have arrived in the US, Canada and Mexico to take part in this year’s FIFA World Cup, in what looks to be a summer of sporting excitement. But before any balls have been kicked, whistles blown and goals scored, drama is already coming out of the French camp. 

An old feud between Captain Kylian Mbappe and the French Football Federation (FFF) has been reignited as the star player has objected to his image rights being used to promote licensed French gambling operator Betclic.

Sitting down to discuss the details, iGaming Expert Editor Joe Streeter is joined by SBC Editor-at-Large Ted Menmuir, as the pair explore what the dispute is about, why it’s resurfaced and its implications for the wider sporting world.

Mbappe Opts Out

During the previous Qatar 2022 World Cup, Mbappe told the FFF that he didn’t want his image rights used to market betting or fast food brands. He objected on personal grounds, telling French broadcaster Canal +, “Many of us come from neighbourhoods where these things have destroyed many people. I myself know people who have suffered from it,”

What followed was a dispute between the star player and the FFF which ultimately led to a revision of the collective image rights terms used by the French national team. Menmuir highlights two key amendments:

The first: Images must feature four or more players, meaning individuals could no longer be singled out.

The second: Images must be taken in settings owned or operated by the FFF.

This wasn’t the first time a high-profile football player had objected to their association with a team or tournament sponsor. Back in Euro 2020, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo famously removed a bottle of Coca-Cola from the press table he was sitting on and replaced it with water instead. 

Menmuir makes a point that these incidents highlight how elite athletes are becoming more controlling over their personal branding, making special reference to Ronaldo’s brand team, which has famously been extremely protective over his commercial image associations for years now.

France’s Regulator Stays Out

Menmuir confirms that France’s National Gambling Authority, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), has not intervened and is unlikely to do so, as this disagreement falls outside of its remit. According to Menmuir, “This is because it’s a contractual matter between the federation, players and the licensed operators.” 

He continues, pointing out that Betclic hasn’t actually broken any French advertising rules here, the disagreement stems more from Mbappe’s personal objections towards promoting gambling and the confusing way collective image rights are packaged, rather than any contractual agreements broken by either the Federation or Betclic.

Exploitation and Ambiguity

Collective image rights are inherently complex as the commercial interests of governing bodies blur with the personal brands of individual athletes often without clarity as to who owns what. 

Athletes argue that collective image rights are exploitative and can lead to situations where a players image is used to promote something they don’t agree with, whether that be on personal grounds or religious ones. 

Streeter uses the Premier League as an example to highlight this central tension, “They can use your image rights for fantasy football, for wider promotions, for TV advertising, but that might not come back to the individual player. But at the same time, the league would argue that the player is part of the league and his status benefits by being promoted via that collective image.”

Setting A Precedent?

Streeter asks whether this renewed action by Mbappe could spill out across other clubs and nations. Menmuir gives him a measured response, “It depends. And I think a lot of this will have to do with how the Federation handles it.” He continues, “I don’t see this unfolding in other clubs. I think it will be strictly a French affair”.

The pair are in agreement, that much of the attention to the topic stems from the high-profile of its main figurehead, Mbappe. As Streeter says, “This probably doesn’t move the needle as much if it’s any other player than Kylian Mbappe.”

Menmuir concludes, “This is as much a story of Mbappe and his image rights and how he wants them to be distributed to the public. You’re talking about a billion euro athlete whose agents and organisation are very wary of commercial value.”

Watch the full iGaming Daily podcast episode here.