Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused of ‘ambush marketing’ after his heart rate data during Portugal’s dramatic penalty shootout win over Slovakia was shared on social media.

The illegal practice sees a company attempt to associate their product or services with an event that already has official sponsors. A notable example came during Euro 2012 when Nicklas Bendtner pulled up his shirt during a goal celebration to reveal a pair of Paddy Power branded underpants.

The Dane was fine £80,000 and banned for one competitive international fixture by the governing body.

In this case, a spotlight has been shone on Ronaldo’s collaboration with the fitness company WHOOP, who design wearable devices that track a range of measures including your heart rate, athletic performance, and sleep score.

The 39-year-old is wearing one of their devices during Euro 2024 and his heart rate data from Portugal’s penalty shootout win was published by the company on Tuesday.

However, according to Ricardo Fort – the former head of global sponsorships at Visa and Coca-Cola – the post was a clear example of ambush marketing and should be met with a fine for both player and company.

‘This chart has been circulating today,’ He wrote on X. “Cristiano and WHOOP is ambush marketing to Euro 2024. It is illegal and both the player and the company should be fined.’

Responding to queries from users on the platform he added: ‘The post is about a UEFA matches, uses the names of the two national teams playing, score, and a player on the field.

‘They are implying an association with the event and that is illegal. Not having ‘a competitor as a sponsor’ isn’t a reason to tolerate infringements.’

Fort went on to claim that had the data been collected during a home workout, in his view, now issue would have arisen.

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