A week after the absence of Kylian Mbappé at the day devoted to the sponsors of the France team, the lawyer for the Parisian striker, Delphine Verheyden, spoke on Monday March 28 in the columns of the newspaper. The Team (paid article) to clarify the situation and the demands of his client. The objective is the renegotiation of the 2010 convention, put in place after the events of Knysna in order to govern “rights and obligations” French internationals when they are called up in the tricolor tunic.
Modify the commitment duration
The 2010 convention engages the players, from their first selection and up to five years after the end of their professional career. “Pour Kylian, it should be from his 18th to his 40th birthday, says Delphine Verheyden. VSIt’s not realistic to make such a long commitment“. Regarding this duration of commitment, it proposes “collective renegotiation on a regular basis, after each World Cup for example”. One way to ensure a cycle of renewal of this convention in the texts, so that it corresponds to the different societal developments: “Thehe world of 2022 has nothing to do with the world after Knysna“, adds the lawyer of the striker prodigy of the Blues.
Redefining the notion of “collective image”
For lawyer Delphine Verheyden, the French Football Federation has undermined the notion of collective image for “actually assign image rights to individual players“. Which poses a problem for her, because the team is not represented as a whole on many occasions and some are more in demand than others. This renegotiation should then ensure that “it is not always the same players (to) be chosen, as is too often the case with Kylian (Mbappé)”, continues the lawyer. In other words, it would be necessary to set up a rotation in the players called for the advertising operations in the France team.
Put in place a conscience clause and a right to inspect advertisements
One of Kylian Mbappé’s important demands concerns the issue of advertising and marketing for the French selection. “It is important that players are in harmony with the advertisements in which they participateexplains Delphine Verheyden. The messages that a player wants to convey can become inaudible, or even totally contradictory“, she adds, taking the example of her client, individually engaged with a brand of organic food in order to “send the right messages to the youngest“, while the French team is notably sponsored by fast food and soda brands.
The lawyer advances the need to set up a “conscience clause“, so that the players of the France team can have the choice of participating or not in the promotion of a brand, but also a “right of inspection” on the use of the collective image of the France team.
To be able to benefit from the money from the sale of the jerseys and to be free to use it
“If we put the player’s name on the jersey, he should touch something“, says the lawyer. The possibility of being able to benefit from this money to the “soccer from below” or to associations is a claim made by the 23-year-old player, who is already donating his bonuses to the French team, as during the 2018 World Cup with the “Premiers de cordée” association.
Have more freedom on the interventions in the media
Finally, the lawyer points out that “players should be able to choose when and where they want to be able to express themselves“. This claim is based on the current obligation, notified by the convention, to have to answer “to any question from any media“. The media world having evolved since the establishment of the convention and the media image of players having taken off with the rise of social networks, the lawyer affirms that it is necessary “reconnect this convention with today’s world“.
The president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët has announced that he wants to initiate dialogue with Kylian Mbappé.