The controversy animated the beginning of the Euro. Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba respectively removed two bottles of Coca-Cola and one of Heineken from the desk behind which they were giving a press conference. UEFA had (a little) raised the tone following these acts, recalling that the two brands pay dearly to be visible during the competition. The body now agrees to remove beer bottles from the desks of Muslim players during press conferences, if they so request.
“We ask Muslim players if they agree to have them or not,” said a spokesperson for UEFA on Friday, recalling that these are “non-alcoholic beers” and confirming a information from Daily Telegraph.
The brewer Heineken, sponsor of the tournament highlighted by the hitherto systematic exhibition of its bottles in front of the players, “agrees with this approach,” said the same source.