Organisers will no longer place bottles of Heineken in front of Muslim players during Euro 2020 press conferences after Paul Pogba was among those to seemingly take issue with the sponsor drink of the competition last week.
France midfielder and Muslim Pogba removed a bottle of alcohol-free Heineken from view while speaking after his nation’s 1-0 victory over Germany on 15 June.
Players and coaches will now be asked ahead of press conferences whether they will or won’t permit a bottle of Heineken 0.0 to be placed in front of them throughout the remainder of the tournament, out of respect for religious beliefs, The Telegraph has reported.
Drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam, and France striker Karim Benzema – a practising Muslim – spoke without bottles of Heineken in front of him during Wednesday’s post-match press conference after Les Bleus drew 2-2 with Portugal.
The Real Madrid forward did, however, take part in an interview in front of Heineken advertising boards after winning the man-of-the-match award – which also featured the sponsor’s name.
Earlier this month, Cristiano Ronaldo displaced Coca Cola bottles during a press conference ahead of Portugal’s tournament-opener against Hungary. The captain also remarked ‘drink water’ to a camera, positioning a water bottle in front of him.
Uefa has warned that fines could be issued to players if they continue to snub sponsors at Euro 2020.
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