Haaland’s ponytail lands Norwegian airline in legal tangle

Oslo, Oct 1 - Erling Haaland, the Norwegian football sensation, has taken legal action against airline Norwegian Air Shuttle for unauthorized use of his image, according to both parties. Haaland's representative, Thomas Hagen, stated via email to AFP that the lawsuit centers around the airline's promotional usage of Haaland's unique identifiers during the World Cup.

Haland, a Manchester City player, led Norway to the quarter-finals in their first World Cup appearance since 1998, before losing 2-1 to England. The specific details of the dispute remain unclear, but it is reported that Norwegian Air Shuttle removed a photo collage featuring a plane with Haaland's ponytail from its social media platforms.

The caption of the image read, "We've never looked more Norwegian." Norwegian confirmed receiving a legal notice and expressed surprise at the allegations. A spokeswoman for the airline stated, "Like almost all of Norway, we supported the national team this summer, through a few spontaneous posts inspired by trends on social media."

The airline regretted that this support was met with legal action, hoping to engage in reasonable dialogue to maintain support for shared sporting heroes in the future. An Oslo District Court hearing is set for October 9.