Ronaldo is the cover star of FIFA 19
Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have had his image removed from the EA Sports website.
Ronaldo has been the cover star of FIFA 19. On a drop-down menu on the EA Sports homepage, each on the company’s main franchise is displayed with the current cover athlete of that series – for instance, Conor McGregor for UFC and Joel Embiid for NBA Live. However, the FIFA section has no athlete displayed.
This is cover the EA Sports website looks, as of Friday evening
A screenshot of the site supposedly captured earlier has Ronaldo clearly visible
The apparent change was first noticed on Twitter.
Meanwhile @EA removed #CristianoRonaldo picture from the website. Old and new versions ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NaeofgDPFY
— Francesco Porzio (@fraporzio95) October 5, 2018
Ronaldo is currently at the centre of rape allegations dating back nine years. A woman named Kathryn Mayorga has accused the footballer of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in June, 2009.
Mayorga’s allegations were published in Der Spiegel last week and were initially branded as “fake news” by Ronaldo in a subsequent Instagram post.
Ronaldo later released a statement denying the allegations in full.
“I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me,” Ronaldo wrote in a Twitter post. “Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.
“Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense.
“My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquility the results of any and all investigations.”
In a statement to JOE, EA Sports said: “We have seen the concerning report that details allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo. We are closely monitoring the situation, as we expect cover athletes and ambassadors to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA’s values.”
UPDATE: As of Saturday, Ronaldo’s image has returned to the EA Sports website.
