{
  "id": 11186186,
  "title": "Haaland’s ponytail lands Norwegian airline in legal tangle",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/haalands-ponytail-lands-norwegian-airline-in-legal-tangle",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-01T12:07:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2026/10/01/haalands-ponytail-lands-norwegian-airline-in-legal-tangle/237306"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "OSLO, Oct 1 — Norwegian football superstar Erling Haaland is suing airline Norwegian Air Shuttle for unlawfully us...",
  "key_points": [
    "Erling Haaland sues Norwegian Air Shuttle over unauthorized image use.",
    "Photo collage with Haaland's ponytail removed from airline's social media.",
    "Oslo District Court hearing scheduled for October 9."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}