'IT IS ILLEGAL!' - CRISTIANO RONALDO ACCUSED OF 'AMBUSH MARKETING' AT EURO 2024 AS SIMILAR PUNISHMENT TO THAT PREVIOUSLY HANDED OUT TO NICKLAS BENDTNER IS DEMANDED FOR PORTUGAL SUPERSTAR

WHAT HAPPENED?

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is currently on European Championship duty. His latest outing was an eventful one, as he missed a stoppage-time penalty in a last-16 showdown with Slovenia – leaving him in tears - before then converting in a dramatic shootout.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Ronaldo is now working with fitness company WHOOP, and they have released data from the wearable devices that are strapped to CR7 – monitoring his heart rate, athletic performance and sleep score. It has been revealed that the all-time great “entered a flow state and dropped his heart rate” when stepping up first for Portugal in their shootout – before seeing that rise to 180bpm when Bernardo Silva scored the decisive spot-kick.

WHAT FORT SAID

Ricardo Fort, the former head of global sponsorship at Visa and Coca-Cola, claims Ronaldo has breached UEFA rules. He posted on social media: “Cristiano and WHOOP is ambush marketing to Euro 2024. It is illegal and both the player and the company should be fined.”

He added: “The post is about a UEFA matches, uses the names of the two national teams playing, score, and a player on the field. They are implying an association with the event and that is illegal. Not having 'a competitor as a sponsor' isn't a reason to tolerate infringements.”

WHAT NEXT?

If the data had been collected during home workouts, then there would be no issue. UEFA have acted upon “ambush marketing” in the past, with ex-Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner handed an £80,000 fine and one-game ban for revealing Paddy Power-branded underpants after scoring for Denmark at Euro 2012.

Check out the latest Euro 2024 winner odds