Haaland sues Norwegian airline over World Cup promotion

Norwegian football star Erling Haaland has launched legal action against Norwegian Air Shuttle over the airline’s use of his identity in a World Cup-related social media campaign.

Lawyer Thomas Hagen, acting for Haaland and York Promotions Ltd, confirmed that a lawsuit had been filed against the airline.

Hagen said the case concerned what he described as the “unlawful use” of Haaland’s identity and brand in Norwegian’s marketing of flight tickets during the World Cup.

Sven Bertil Frandsen, reporting for Flashscore, said Norwegian had subsequently removed social media posts featuring imagery associated with the Manchester City and Norway striker.

One post showed a Norwegian aircraft with Haaland’s distinctive hairstyle digitally added to it, accompanied by the caption: “We’ve never looked more Norwegian.”

The material was shared on platforms including TikTok, while other Instagram posts featuring Haaland were also deleted.

Norwegian press spokesperson Eivind Hammer Myhre confirmed that the company had received the lawsuit but said it was surprised by the action.

He said the airline had joined the wider public in supporting Norway’s national team and had published several spontaneous social media posts based on prevailing online trends. Norwegian said it hoped the dispute could be resolved through dialogue and that it could continue supporting Norwegian sporting figures.