Cristiano Ronaldo Removed from EA Sports Website Amid Rape Investigation

EA Sports removed Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo's image from a photo of the FIFA 19 video game cover on its website Friday.

Francesco Porzio of Onefootball posted before and after images of the site on Twitter:

EA Sports' decision to remove Ronaldo's picture from the website comes on the heels of the reopening of an investigation by the Las Vegas police into an allegation by American woman Kathryn Mayorga that Ronaldo raped her in a hotel room in 2009.

According to Spanish newspaper AS, EA Sports released the following statement regarding the removal of Ronaldo's image: "We have seen the concerning report that details allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo. We are closely monitoring the situation, as we expect cover athletes and ambassadors to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA's values."

After fans noticed Ronaldo had been removed from the banner photo for the game's Twitter account on Wednesday, an EA Sports spokesperson told Wesley Yin-Poole of Eurogamer that the company "updates its social banners for certain marketing beats."

Last week, Ronaldo called the allegation "fake news" on Instagram Live and added, "They want to promote my name. It's normal. They want to be famous to say my name, but it is part of the job. I am a happy man and all good."

According to BBC, Ronaldo reportedly reached a $375,000 settlement with Mayorga in 2010. In exchange, Mayorga agreed to not go public with the allegation.

Mayorga's allegation was made public in German magazine Der Spiegel, and Ronaldo's lawyers called the publication's reporting "blatantly illegal" while announcing their intention to seek damages.

FIFA 19 was released on Sept. 28 with Ronaldo as the cover athlete in his Juventus kit after joining the club on a transfer from Real Madrid in July.