Erling Haaland sues Norwegian Air over a World Cup ad featuring his ponytail, alleging the airline used his likeness without permission

Updated on: Oct 2, 2026, 16:37:07 IST

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Norway football star Erling Haaland has taken legal action against Norwegian Air Shuttle, alleging that the airline used elements of his appearance without permission in a World Cup advertisement. The dispute centres on a social media post released during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when Norway made its first appearance at the tournament since 1998.

According to Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), the airline shared a composite image of one of its aircraft featuring a ponytail resembling Haaland’s distinctive hairstyle. The post carried the caption, “We’ve never looked more Norwegian,” referencing the national team’s World Cup campaign.

Haaland’s lawyer, Thomas Hagen, told AFP, “The case concerns Norwegian’s unlawful use of Haaland’s distinctive signs in its promotion of plane tickets during the football World Cup.”

Norwegian Air confirmed that it had received the lawsuit but questioned the action. Spokesperson Catharina Solli told AFP, “Like almost all of Norway, we supported the national team this summer, through a few spontaneous posts inspired by trends on social media.”

She added, “It is regrettable that this support has been met with legal action, but we hope to have a reasonable dialogue so that we can continue, in the future as well, to support our common sport heroes.”

The airline later removed the post. A meeting between the judge and the legal teams is scheduled for October 9 at Oslo District Court, according to VG.

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