Mbappé Objects to France Stars' Images Promoting Bookmaker Ahead of World Cup

A grievance aimed at the federation, not the bookmaker

French national-team players, led by Kylian Mbappé, are unhappy about the use of their images in an advertising campaign for the sports-betting operator Betclic in the run-up to the World Cup, according to L’Équipe. The French publication, in a June 6 report, said the campaign had created significant tension inside the squad.

Mbappé and Rayan Cherki were among those said to be unhappy that their likenesses featured in promotional material for Betclic, an official partner of the French Football Federation (FFF). Désiré Doué, Michael Olise, and Ousmane Dembélé also appeared, with the images reportedly taken during a photoshoot at Clairefontaine, the national team’s training base. The players say they were not told how the material would be used.

Their grievance, according to the report, is aimed at the FFF rather than Betclic. The objection turns on consent and communication, meaning that the federation approved and circulated the campaign without properly informing the players, rather than any claim the operator broke the rules.

Betclic itself appears to be acting within its rights. A collective image-rights convention signed in September 2023, after lengthy negotiations between the federation and the players’ lawyers, governs how the squad’s image can be used with FFF sponsors. It reportedly permits collective use when at least five players appear together on a rotating basis, which is the format used in the Betclic campaign.

Mbappé has been among the most vocal critics, in keeping with his long-running reluctance to attach his likeness to betting or fast-food brands. His lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, has argued that a player’s image is tied to their values and that sponsor campaigns should align with them, given the influence leading internationals hold over younger fans.

Before the 2022 World Cup, Mbappé briefly declined to take part in a sponsor photoshoot at Clairefontaine over the players’ image-rights arrangements, prompting the federation to agree to revise its rules, which was the process that produced the 2023 convention that is now at the center of the dispute.

The latest flare-up follows earlier squad disputes over post-tournament bonuses and ticket allocations, and L’Équipe reported the players are unlikely to escalate before the World Cup. They are seeking an explanation and a retraction, with the federation said to have until around September to defuse the issue. France open their Group I campaign against Senegal on June 16, before facing Iraq and Norway.

The episode revives a recurring tension over gambling’s grip on football, one playing out well beyond France as clubs and regulators pull back from betting money. The Premier League’s gambling-sponsorship ban has been pushing operators down the shirt hierarchy, while authorities have moved to tighten betting-advertising rules before the tournament, including Dutch operators facing a crackdown before the World Cup kickoff. While the Betclic dispute is shelved until after the marquee competition, it looks set to resurface in the autumn.