International Football
Ronaldo faces $1B lawsuit
Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with class-action lawsuit seeking at least $1 billion in damages for his role in promoting cryptocurrency-related “non-fungible tokens,” or NFTs, issued by the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida Monday alleges that Ronaldo’s promotion of Binance was “deceptive and unlawful.” Binance’s partnership with high-profile figures like Ronaldo, the plaintiffs claim, led them into costly and unsafe investments.
“Evidence now reveals that Binance’s fraud was only able to reach such heights through the offer and sale of unregistered securities, with the willing help and assistance of some of the wealthiest, powerful and recognized organizations and celebrities across the globe—just like Defendant Ronaldo,” the suit reads.
Representatives for Ronaldo and Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, did not immediately return requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Ronaldo launched his inaugural NFT “CR7” collection with Binance in November of last year, ahead of the 2022 World Cup. The NFTs — which had starting prices ranging from the equivalent of about $77 to $10,000 — featured seven animated statues depicting Ronaldo from iconic moments in his life, from bicycle-kick goals to his childhood in Portugal.
Monday’s suit says that the promotional efforts of Ronaldo’s Binance partnership were “incredibly successful” — alleging a 500% increase in online searches using the keyword “Binance” after the football star’s NFTs was announced. The collection’s premium-level NFTs sold out within the first week, the suit claims.
Ronaldo has since continued to promote Binance on his official website and social media platforms. Most recently, on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) Ronaldo reposted a Binance video and wrote that he was “Cooking something up” with the crypto exchange on Tuesday.
NFTs are ordinary digital images with an attached version number that have been added to a cryptocurrency blockchain, a process designed to make them “unique” collectibles. NFTs enjoyed a brief boom, but have since largely collapsed in value as the crypto industry has been marred by scandals and market meltdowns.
Over the summer, Binance was accused of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and violating a slew of U.S. securities laws in a lawsuit from regulators. The crypto exchange agreed last week to pay a roughly $4 billion settlement and its founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty to a felony related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform.
This week’s lawsuit against Ronaldo isn’t the first time that a celebrity has faced litigation over crypto promotions. Last year, a host of Hollywood and sports stars — including Larry David and Tom Brady — were named as defendants in a class-action suit against FTX, which was the second-largest crypto exchange before it collapsed in November 2022. The suit argued that the celebrities’ status made them culpable for promoting FTX’s failed business model.
Ronaldo is one of the most recognizable and wealthiest athletes in the world. He leads his home country Portugal’s national team and has played for the Spanish team Real Madrid, the Italian club Juventus, and Manchester United in England. He now plays for the Saudi Arabian professional team Al-Nassr.
–AP
Germany handed Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who fills in for Ederson at the Premier League champions, his first call-up on Thursday ahead of their Nations League matches against Bosnia and Hungary later in November.
The 32-year-old, who joined City in 2022, plays a back-up role for his club with more appearances in the Champions League and domestic cup competitions than in the Premier League where Brazilian Ederson is first choice.
But Ortega has performed with distinction when he has deputised for Ederson, including late last season when City coach Pep Guardiola called him “a world-class goalkeeper, an exceptional, exceptional goalkeeper.”
Ortega is likely to be the third choice for Germany behind Alexander Nuebel and Oliver Baumann.
Group A3 leaders Germany, who have already qualified for the last eight in the Nations League, host Bosnia on Nov. 16 before traveling to Hungary three days later.
“After making sure of a spot in the quarter-finals we now want to seal top spot in the group,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“Reaching the Nations League final four next year is an important milestone on our way to the 2026 World Cup.”
-Reuters
Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has been appointed manager of his home nation Trinidad and Tobago, the country’s Football Association said on Friday.
Yorke, who won the treble with United as a player, made 72 appearances for Trinidad and Tobago, scoring 19 goals, and was captain at their only World Cup in 2006.
“As a player I experienced some incredible moments in a Trinidad and Tobago shirt. With this squad I hope that can continue as head coach,” Yorke said.
His only managerial experience came at Macarthur FC, where he won the Australia Cup in 2022. The 52-year-old also had a brief spell as assistant manager witht Sunderland and was also assistant with Trinidad and Tobago in 2009.
-Reuters
Saudi Arabia has reappointed Frenchman Herve Renard as manager to replace Roberto Mancini, the Gulf country’s national team announced on Saturday.
Nigeria had struggled to sign Renard as a replacement for Finidi George who resigned last June as the Super Eagles’ head coach.
But the efforts failed, even after waiting for Renard to complete his assignment as the coach of the French women’s team at Paris 2024.
The 56-year-old, who was in charge of the Saudis from 2019 to 2023, takes over from Italian Mancini who left the position as Saudi Arabia coach on Thursday by mutual agreement after 14 months in the job.
“I am back,” Renard, clad in Saudi traditional costume, said in a video published on the Saudi national team’s X social media account.
According to Reuters, Renard’s contract runs until the end of 2025 with an option to extend through the 2027 Asian Cup, the team said in a statement.
Renard had left his job with the Saudis to lead France’s women’s team at the World Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“I did not intend to leave. But when your country knock on your door, you have to respond,” he said in the video.
During his first spell, he led Saudi Arabia to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they surprisingly beat eventual champions Argentina in their opener.
“I did not finish my story with Saudi yet. And thank God, I am back,” added the Frenchman.
He will resume his duties with the Saudis on Oct. 27, with their next World Cup qualifiers away to Australia and Indonesia in November kicking off his second stint, the team added.
Saudi Arabia are third in Group C of Asia’s third round of World Cup preliminaries with five points. They are five points adrift of group leaders Japan after four matches.
They lost 2-0 at home to Japan on Oct. 10 before being held to a scoreless draw by Bahrain five days later.
The top two in each group advance automatically to the World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed sides go into another round of preliminaries with the bottom two finishers eliminated.
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