Former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane has began legal proceedings against notorious bookmaker Paddy Power, following an out of home advertising campaign that used his image without his consent.
The midfield icon clearly took offence to the use of his image in an ad campaign that portrayed him as William Wallace from the movie Braveheart. The OOH advert was displayed on a large truck that was driven around Dublin and parked outside of the country's national stadium on the day of Ireland's Euro 2016 Qualification match against Scotland in June.
The poster was a direct reference to the recent Scottish Independence referendum, designed to taunt visiting Scotland fans.
The Irish bookmaker, famed for its frequently controversial advertising campaigns, could potentially face a bill of around €100,000 if Keane wins the claim that the billboard was an infringement on his image rights.
A spokesperson for Paddy Power was quoted as saying that the matter "is with the lawyers, obviously we can't talk about it, but hopefully they don't take our freedom to have a bit of craic."
It's the second time that the bookmaker has been in the news in the past month, after another recent campaign in Calais jokingly encouraged illegal immigrants to jump into their lorries - but only if they were good at sports.
The midfield icon clearly took offence to the use of his image in an ad campaign that portrayed him as William Wallace from the movie Braveheart. The OOH advert was displayed on a large truck that was driven around Dublin and parked outside of the country's national stadium on the day of Ireland's Euro 2016 Qualification match against Scotland in June.
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| The controversial ad hasn't gone down well with the former midfielder |
The poster was a direct reference to the recent Scottish Independence referendum, designed to taunt visiting Scotland fans.
The Irish bookmaker, famed for its frequently controversial advertising campaigns, could potentially face a bill of around €100,000 if Keane wins the claim that the billboard was an infringement on his image rights.
A spokesperson for Paddy Power was quoted as saying that the matter "is with the lawyers, obviously we can't talk about it, but hopefully they don't take our freedom to have a bit of craic."
It's the second time that the bookmaker has been in the news in the past month, after another recent campaign in Calais jokingly encouraged illegal immigrants to jump into their lorries - but only if they were good at sports.