Khaberni - In a surprising move, the International Football Federation (FIFA) was forced to delete the official promotional poster for the 2026 World Cup, following a widespread wave of anger that swept social media, due to the exclusion of the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo’s image from the poster.
The promotional poster, published by FIFA, immediately sparked controversy for featuring images of prominent stars from the qualified teams, such as Lionel Messi (Argentina), Kylian Mbappe (France), Erling Haaland (Norway), and Mohamed Salah (Egypt), while Ronaldo was completely absent and replaced by his teammate in the Portuguese national team, Bruno Fernandes.
Global outrage and accusations of "settling scores"
The unjustified exclusion process unleashed a storm of angry and mocking comments on digital platforms, where many considered this behavior "shameful and incomprehensible," especially since Ronaldo is considered a global icon and one of the greatest players in the history of the game, owning unmatched record numbers.
Users also shared comments criticizing the move from a marketing perspective, sharply questioning: "Ghana captain Jordan Ayew is in the poster.. and Ronaldo isn’t?!" Many considered the move a "deliberate insult" and possibly "settling scores" with the player who continues to perform exceptionally with Al Nassr and his national team.
Despite the global uproar and the subsequent deletion of the poster, FIFA issued no official explanation for the reasons that led them to exclude the Portuguese star’s image from the promotional poster for the world's biggest sporting event.
