Report: 'Thousands' of Players Object to Likenesses Being Used in FIFA 21 Without Consent

Thousands of players are expected to object to EA Sports using their likenesses without what they consider "proper consent" in the FIFA 21 video game, according to The Athletic's Ali Humayun. 

AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale are among the stars that have made public statements about their objections. Ibrahomivic tweeted that he never allowed FIFA or FIFPro (the international players' union) to make money off his image and likeness.

"Somebody is making profit [sic] on my name and face without any agreement all these years," Ibrahimovic tweeted. "Time to investigate."

While there is currently no concrete plan for players to challenge EA Sports, Humayun reports that a "growing number" of top players are likely to come forward to object to their likenesses being used in FIFA 21 without what they consider to be proper consent.

A brand must make agreements with clubs or individual players to acquire image and likeness rights to be used in a video game, according to The Athletic. Additionally, FIFPro has the authority to sell name and likeness rights on behalf of all players from a member nation. 

Premier League teams have sold their video game licensing rights collectively but Serie A differs in their agreements. EA Sports said in a statement to a Dutch publication that they hold the rights to use Ibrahomivic's likeness through its agreement with AC Milan. 

EA Sports has released new iterations of FIFA since 1993. FIFA 21 marks the 28th version of the video game.