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What's the story?
EA has reportedly taken down all promotional images of Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo as the FIFA 19 cover star has been at the centre of rape allegations recently, stating that they were closely monitoring the claims.
The sponsors have removed all pictures of him on Twitter and Facebook, replacing them with more general images.
In case you didn't know...
The Portuguese has recently been making the headlines for accusations of rape made against him.
Kathryn further claimed that the Portuguese ace had paid her $375,000 and forced her to sign a nondisclosure agreement for her silence following the alleged incident. According to German media outlet DerSpeigel, Kathryn Mayorga, accused the former Real Madrid man of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in June 2009 when he was holidaying with his cousin and brother-in-law.
Ronaldo has since denied the allegations via a statement on his Twitter account. The statement read, "I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense."
"My clear conscious will thereby allow me to wait with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations."
The heart of the matter
The FIFA 19 developers have reportedly expressed concern over the rape allegations against their cover star.
Speaking to EuroGamer, an EA representative said, "We have seen the concerning report that details allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo."
"We are closely monitoring the situation, as we expect cover athletes and ambassadors to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA’s values."
The news comes after Ronaldo's biggest sponsors, Nike, expressed that they were "deeply concerned" about the allegations.
The former Real Madrid man has also been left out of the Portugal squad for this year's international games against Poland, Italy and Scotland following an agreement made between the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Fernando Gomes, and the forward.
What's next?
A report in The Mirror suggests that case lawyers are now extending their search for evidence in the UK, tracking down a woman who made a similar allegation against Ronaldo in 2005.
Speaking of his client's intentions, Mayorga's lawyer said, "The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries."
