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Legal battle lost as Napoli are finally banned
A report has emerged on how Serie A giants, Napoli have been banned from using the image of their icon and one of the world’s greatest footballers Diego Maradona who passed away in November, 2020 on their shirts after losing a legal battle to the late Argentine’s family.
National Daily understands that Maradona’s children have revealed that they had never given Napoli their consent to do so and are demanding the £400,000 profit made by the club made from sales of his image.
Napoli who have lost the legal battle as Maradona’s five children claimed that they have never consented to the use of their father’s face on shirts are now blocked from distributing his image in any form.
It was gathered by National Daily that a court has ruled in favour of Maradona’s five children in an argument with Stefano Ceci over their father’s image rights, after Napoli had produced four limited edition shirts with the World Cup-winner’s face on a fingerprint pattern following his death.
According to Italian outlet La Reppublica, the Serie A leaders acquired the rights to produce shirts with the club legend’s likeness from Ceci, the Argentine’s former manager, prior to Maradona’s death in 2020.
But although the club signed a £20,200 (€23,000) agreement with Ceci, the player’s family claimed to never have given consent to the use of the images, and have been successful in their calls for an injunction to block the distribution of his image.
The family also called for the proceeds made off of Maradona’s likeness to be seized – around £400,000 (€450,000) – and Ceci himself has had some £132,000 (€150,000) seized.
Maradona is perhaps the Neapolitans’ most-loved figure in their 96-year history, and he has been immortalised several times over in murals across the city and he is so key to the side’s identity, hence the significance of the fingerprint on the shirt.
In total, the sale of an estimated 6,000 limited editions shirts – in four different designs – brought the club around £791,000 (€900,000) in gross income, half of which went to Maradona’s former manager.
Court of Naples judge Paolo Andrea Vassallo described the contract with Ceci as ‘detrimental to the patrimonial expectations’ of the club legend’s family.
Maradona’s five children claimed that they did not consent to the use of their father’s image right by Napoli
He added that Maradona was ‘a planetary symbol of football, recognised and recognisable all over the world, whose economic value appears to be of considerable importance, almost inestimable.’
His death rocked the club, and there have been several commemorations in his honour, including a Europa League clash with Rijeka on Thursday, November 26 2020 in which Napoli players wore a No 10 shirt with Maradona’s name on the back.
A deeply divisive figure, but undeniably one of the greatest talents to ever grace a football pitch, Maradona spent seven years with Napoli, scoring 115 goals in 257 games for the club, as they won a first ever Scudetto in 1986-87
Whilst four of the southern Italian side’s kits last term carried the legend’s likeness, the club will at least be thankful that the court’s ruling will not affect the side this campaign.
Maradona’s own shirt from the 1986 World Cup – which he lifted after beating West Germany in the final – was returned to his home country by Lothar Matthaus, who he called his greatest opponent in his biography.
Having returned the jersey to the Argentine ambassador in Spain in August 2022, Matthaus spoke to Sportsmail exclusively, saying: ‘Diego is a god in Argentina that is why it was special to give them the jersey.’