France Midfielder Paul Pogba Snubs Sponsor, Removes Heineken Beer Bottle for Religious Reasons

After removing a bottle of Heineken beer from his news conference, French star midfielder Paul Pogba became the latest sports superstar to boycott a tournament sponsor. The European Championships are sponsored by a number of companies, notably the Dutch beer giant Heineken. 

The renowned player, who practices Islam, did not appear to be pleased with the bottle placed in front of him. Despite the fact that the bottle on the table was an alcohol-free variation of the popular beer brand, the 28-year-old was less offended and chose to remove it since it opposed his Muslim beliefs. 

Pogba led France to a 1-0 victory against Germany in the final European Championships encounter. Pogba was named Man of the Encounter after his superb pass set up Mats Hummels' own goal, giving France a 1-0 win in their opening Group F match. 

The Manchester United midfielder converted to Islam in 2019 and has expressed his religious convictions on several occasions. The most recent instance was during the holy month of Ramzan, when he continued with a Europa League match while being on fast. Pogba took to Twitter in 2017 to openly declare that he does not drink alcohol in any form. 

This move by Manchester United's most expensive player comes after the great CR7 who during a pre-match conference replaced a pair of coca-cola bottles with a bottle of water. 

Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably one of the greatest footballers of all time, is known for being a fitness enthusiast. To build that supermodel physique and extraordinary footballing prowess, Ronaldo had to make a lot of sacrifices. During Portugal's news conference ahead of their first Euro 2020 encounter against Hungary, the forward expressed his healthy lifestyle choice once more. Ronaldo and his coach, Fernando Santos, arrived for the news conference. When Ronaldo noticed a pair of Coca-Cola bottles in front of him, he opted to remove them from the camera position entirely. Instead, he lifted a water bottle and encouraged everyone to 'drink water.' 

After footballer Cristiano Ronaldo swapped two Coca-Cola bottles for a bottle of water during a pre-match press conference the beverage company's shares plummeted 1.6 percent, around 4 billion USD. 

It remains to be seen whether Heineken would respond to the exclusion of their beverage from the post-match news conference by the French stars. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola responded to Ronaldo's shift by saying that everyone is entitled to their drink preferences."  

Also Read - Cristiano Ronaldo Removes Official Sponsor Coca Cola Bottles during Press Conference, says 'Drink Water'

Also Watch - Song to Find Assam Tea Tribes Singer who has Gone Missing