Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko has poked fun at Cristiano Ronaldo’s Coca-Cola snub, while Harry Kane says he won’t be joining the bizarre backlash against the drink.
Earlier this week, Ronaldo moved two bottles of coke out of shot during an interview, instead holding up a bottle of water and he said, ‘Agua!’ – or ‘Water!’ in Portuguese.
The Portuguese superstar’s actions caused a stir and wiped £2.85bn off Coca-Cola’s share price, while Italy’s Manuel Locatelli followed suit a couple of days later and Paul Pogba also moved a Heineken bottle away for religious reasons.
But with UEFA ready to fine any more players who follow suit, the tone towards Euro 2020’s sponsors shifted on Thursday, with Yarmolenko mocking Ronaldo, while Kane and Scott McTominay both refused to join in with moving the drinks.
‘Can I do something? I’ve seen Ronaldo putting away Coca-Cola bottles recently,’ said Yarmolenko on Thursday after scoring and getting an assist in Ukraine’s 2-1 victory over North Macedonia.
‘I’ll put Coca-Cola here, I’ll put Heineken right her up front! Guys, contact me!’
Meanwhile, Tottenham forward Kane – who has a deal with coke and even recently posted a tweet comparing the feeling of scoring to ‘that indescribable first taste of Coca-Cola’ – defended the sponsors.
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‘From my point of view the sponsors are entitled to have what they want if they have paid the money to do so,’ said Kane on Thursday. ‘It’s not something I have thought about too much, I am more focussed on tomorrow.’
McTominay, like Kane, does not have any issue with Coca-Cola, he said: ‘It’s no issue that Coca-Cola is on the table. I’m not drinking it so they can leave it there all they like.
‘They are sponsors of the tournament so are more than within their right to have it there. You don’t have to drink it.’
At the end of the press conference, McTominay took one of the bottles with him, saying: ‘I’ll have a diet coke as well.’
England boss Gareth Southgate also added: ’I think there are lots of sponsors in sport and the impact of their money at all levels helps sport to function, particularly grassroots sport in our country requires a lot of investment and without these companies investing, its very difficult to have the facilities we need.
‘We are mindful of obesity and health but everything can be done in moderation. Anything partaken of in moderation is rarely a problem. I understand the concerns people have and the two guys [Ronaldo and Pogba] have different rationale for their stances they took. But there’s always a bigger picture.’
