FIFA 19 has received mainly positive reviews following its release, thanks to added realism and entertaining game modes. Everything isn’t positive, however, with the game, thanks to recent assualt allegations that have pointed towards FIFA‘s cover athlete Cristiano Ronaldo.
What happened?
The woman behind the allegations, Kathyrn Mayorga, has come out and said that she was raped in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Mayorga, who filed a lawsuit against Ronaldo last week in Nevada, said that she repeatedly screamed no multiple times and accused Ronaldo of taking advantage of her fragile state when she signed a non-disclosure agreement about the incident in 2009.
Ronaldo’s legal team denied the allegations when they came out last year after being reported by the German publication Der Spiegal. In an Instagram post last week, Ronaldo denied raping Mayorga, calling the allegations “fake news.”
What has been the response?
Multiple companies who work with Ronaldo have said that they are concerned about the allegations. Nike, in a statement to Reuters, said “We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
EA has also come out with their response, telling Reuters that they are “concerned” with the situation surrounding Ronaldo. EA added:
“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”
What’s interesting is that EA seems to be purging Ronaldo from their website, as well as on social media. The Twitter account @Fifanomicsnet sent these tweets out on Thursday:
https://twitter.com/Fifanomicsnet/status/1047878821704339458
https://twitter.com/Fifanomicsnet/status/1047881098867425280
https://twitter.com/Fifanomicsnet/status/1047881370259922944
If EA is willing to go this far on social media and on their website, it is certainly plausible that they may do the same with the title screen of FIFA 19Â and remove him as the cover athlete, or from the game entirely.
It wouldn’t be the first time EA has dealt with something like this regarding athletes in their games. In 2014, former NFL running back Ray Rice was removed from Madden 15 after he was suspended by the National Football League for punching his then-fiancee Janay Rice.
In 2015, Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane was removed from the cover of NHL 16, which he was supposed to share with fellow Blackhawk Jonathan Toews, after he was investigated after a woman alleged she was raped by Kane in 2009. After Kane was removed, Toews remained on the cover as the lone cover athlete.
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