Euro 2020 stars threatened with fines after Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba actions

Cristiano Ronaldo moves Coke bottles in press conference

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Players have been warned that they face fines if they continue to snub EURO 2020 press conference props advertising the tournament’s sponsors.

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo started the trend when he removed a bottle of Coca-Cola from the desk of his media briefing earlier this week.

Ronaldo told reporters: “Drink water,” before replacing the fizzy drink with his own water bottle.

Coca-Cola’s stock shares fell by £4billion in the aftermath but it is not believed to have been caused entirely by the Juventus forward.

France midfielder Paul Pogba then joined Ronaldo’s lead by removing a bottle of Heineken 0.0 – the non-alcoholic version of the beverage.

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Heineken is the official beer partner of Euro 2020 and the prop had been placed in front of Pogba before he conducted media duties following Les Bleus’ 1-0 win over Germany on Tuesday.

Pogba is a devout Muslim and alcohol is forbidden and it is believed that the Manchester United man removed the bottle because alcohol is forbidden in the religion.

Last year, Heineken extended their long-term partnership with UEFA in and will sponsor the Champions League until 2024.

Manuel Locatelli also moved a bottle of Coca-Cola out of the camera’s view after scoring a brace in Italy’s 3-0 victory over Switzerland.

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Scotland’s John McGinn joked about the absence of a Coca-Cola bottle during his press conference ahead of their Group D clash with England.

“No Coke?” the Aston Villa midfielder quipped.

UEFA has now warned stars that they face punishment for threatening the revenues of tournament sponsors, but that fines will be made through their respective nation’s football association.

“It is important because the revenues of the sponsors are important for the tournament and for European football,” UEFA tournament director Martin Kallen said during a media briefing.

“We are never fining players directly from the UEFA side, we will do this always through the participating national association and then they could look if they will go further to the player, but we are not going directly for the moment to the player.

“We have the regulations signed by the participating federations.

“We have reminded them of their obligations and of course this is always a possibility. We are quite open that if it’s for a religious reason then they don’t need to have a bottle (next to them).”

Meanwhile, Wembley Stadium’s hosting of the Euro 2020 final is in doubt over fears that UEFA officials, politicians and media will have to quarantine due to government lockdown restrictions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that “sensible accommodations” can be made. 

Kallen has said that he hopes overseas supporters will be able to attend all knockout round fixtures.

He continued: “We are in discussion for the knockout rounds, especially the semi-finals and final, on this question to have also overseas spectators.

“We are in discussion every day with the authorities and we hope to come to a good conclusion with the English government.”
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