Diego Maradona, one of the greatest footballers of all time, has been “suspended” by FIFA 22 following a legal dispute.
In a message that appears when players start the game, EA says: “Due to a third party legal dispute, we have to suspend Diego Maradona to join the FIFA Ultimate Team Packs, Ultimate Draft and Soccer Aid World XI Team.
“So, Diego Maradona Icon Items will no longer be available in packs, SBCs and FUT drafts, and their price range has been fixed until further notice.
“We share the disappointment of our fans and hope to bring one of the greatest football icons back to the game at some point in the future.”
The issue appears to have arisen over a debate over who owns Maradona’s equality rights, with an Argentine court ruling last year that EA had potentially negotiated with the wrong party and that it should remove Maradona from the game. until it can be determined who it should have employed.
According to a report on the Argentine news website Infobae in November 2021, the court found that the EA had signed a commercial agreement with Stefano Ceci, the player’s former manager. However, the court concluded that Ceci had no legal authority to make such dealers, and could not prove that he did so.
The debate over who owns the rights to Maradona’s image is further embroiled in controversy. Maradona’s lawyer Matias Morla claims that Maradona granted the rights to the trademark ‘Diego Armando Maradona’ to his company Sattvica before his death.
In March 2021, Sattvica was banned from using the Maradona brand, following a complaint by two of Maradona’s daughters. The ban was reversed later that year, but Maradona’s daughter and Morla continue to wage a bitter war over who owns the player’s rights.
In the November 2021 trial, Judge Marcelo Gota ruled that “it would be appropriate to take precautionary measures to prevent the use of the mark and the alleged infringement of trademark rights”.
He decided that the EA should “take the necessary precautionary measures to stop the use of trademarks immediately, as indicated by any means exercised”, until it is clear who Maradona’s rights are.
“It is advisable to take the necessary measures until the rights of each of the parties in the process […] be clarified to avoid infringement of any intellectual property right if there is a likelihood that any delay would cause irreparable damage to the holder of the rights, “he said.
Until the situation is resolved when it comes to FIFA 22, Maradona will have to sit on the bench.
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