Erling Haaland takes Norwegian Air Shuttle to court over ponytail image

Erling Haaland is suing Norwegian Air Shuttle over the alleged unauthorised use of his image in a promotion linked to the football World Cup.

The Manchester City forward’s lawyer, Thomas Hagen, said the case concerned the airline’s use of Haaland’s “distinctive signs” in advertising for plane tickets during the tournament.

“The case concerns Norwegian’s unlawful use of Haaland’s distinctive signs in its promotion of plane tickets during the football World Cup,” Hagen said in an email to AFP.

The precise basis of the dispute has not been made public. However, Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) reported that Norwegian had removed a social media image showing one of its aircraft with a ponytail attached to it.

The hairstyle had become closely associated with Haaland before he recently cut his hair.

The image carried the caption: “We’ve never looked more Norwegian.”

Norwegian confirmed it had received the legal writ, but said it found the claim difficult to understand.

“Like almost all of Norway, we supported the national team this summer, through a few spontaneous posts inspired by trends on social media,” airline spokeswoman Catharina Solli told AFP.

“It is regrettable that this support has been met with legal action, but we hope to have a reasonable dialogue so that we can continue, in the future as well, to support our common sport heroes,” she added.

Haaland helped Norway reach the World Cup quarter-finals this summer, their first appearance at football’s biggest international tournament since 1998. Norway were beaten 2-1 by England in the last eight.

A hearing at Oslo District Court is scheduled for October 9, according to VG.