Now pictures of Ronaldo are taken off sponsor’s website
ONE of Cristiano Ronaldo’s biggest sponsors removed pictures of him from its website and Twitter account after saying it was ‘closely monitoring’ rape allegations against the footballer.
The images later reappeared on the computer games company EA Sports’ website after the Daily Mail raised questions about it.
Ronaldo, 33, is the face of the firm’s FIFA computer game, in what is understood to be a multi-million-pound deal.
EA Sports said it had not deleted images of the player, although this ‘may have been mistakenly taken as action on our part’ during updates to its website.
It came after the company released a statement saying: ‘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.’
Meanwhile, shares in the player’s current club, Turin-based Juventus, plummeted by 10 per cent yesterday – equivalent to £114.5million.
It comes after Nike said on Thursday it was ‘deeply concerned’ about claims made by Kathryn Mayorga. The sportswear firm is Ronaldo’s biggest sponsor, having signed a lifetime deal in excess of $1billion (£763million) with him in 2016.
Miss Mayorga, 34, a former teacher, has filed a US lawsuit claiming Ronaldo raped her on June 13, 2009, in his penthouse suite at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
She met him at Rain, a nightclub that forms part of the resort, on a night out with friends. She said this week she ‘wants justice’ over the alleged incident after previously signing a non-disclosure agreement for £270,000.
Her lawyers claim the agreement is not valid and that Ronaldo had himself breached it. They have promised to begin releasing documents relating to the case in the coming days, including the results of a medical examination.
Police in Las Vegas have reopened an investigation into the claims after Miss Mayorga’s lawyers handed over a dossier of evidence. It remains unclear whether Ronaldo will be asked to give evidence.
The footballer said in a statement: ‘I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable
‘Abominable crime’
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.’
The rape allegations were only revealed after millions of documents concerning the world of football, including claims about investments in offshore firms, were leaked by a whistleblower.
Amid the 18.6million documents were a number that focused on the alleged 2009 assault. The claims were then pursued by the German news magazine Der Spiegel.