Norwegian football star Erling Haaland has filed a lawsuit against airline Norwegian Air Shuttle over alleged unlawful use of his likeness in a World Cup promotion.
Haaland’s lawyer, Thomas Hagen of law firm Schjodt said the case concerns the airline’s unlawful use of the striker’s distinctive signs to market flight tickets during the 2026 World Cup.
The dispute reportedly centres on a social media post in which the airline digitally added a ponytail to one of its aircraft, a hairstyle strongly associated with Haaland before he recently cut his hair.
The image, which was shared on Instagram and TikTok, carried the caption “We’ve never looked more Norwegian” and has since been deleted.
Haaland, who plays for Manchester City, inspired Norway to the quarter-finals of the World Cup this summer, their first appearance at the tournament since 1998 before losing 2-1 to England.
The airline confirmed it has received the writ and described the legal action as difficult to understand.
Spokeswoman Catharina Solli said like almost all of Norway, the airline supported the national team during the summer through spontaneous posts inspired by trends on social media.
She said it is regrettable that the support has been met with legal action but expressed hope for reasonable dialogue so that the airline can continue to support national sports heroes in the future.
According to Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), a hearing at the Oslo District Court is scheduled for October 9. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Haaland and York Promotions Ltd.
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