In the case of former Dortmund player Jadon Sancho, EA SPORTS is losing authenticity in FC 25. The developer is not allowed to depict the Englishman faithfully – otherwise a legal dispute could arise.
Jadon Sancho also plays for Chelsea FC in FC 25. kicker eSport/EA SPORTS
EA SPORTS usually tries to recreate the tattoos of the players in its football simulations as realistically as possible. However, in the case of former BVB professional Jadon Sancho, the developer has dispensed with this in FC 25 – not entirely voluntarily. The necessary licenses are simply missing to depict the Englishman’s body decoration without having to fear legal consequences.
Sancho has various tattoos with a pop culture background on his right arm: the Simpsons, Sonic the Hedgehog and Spider-Man. All of these are registered trademarks for which EA SPORTS does not have the rights to the video game representation. As a result, the FC-25 makers had to change the tattoos in their new game. Spider-Man can still be seen in the digital world – but is completely black and grey.
Sancho’s original tattoos on the left, the FC-25 version on the right. kicker eSport/IMAGO/EA SPORTS
Sancho trouble five years ago
EA SPORTS’ implementation of a Sancho tattoo had already caused anger among the offensive player years ago: in 2019, he complained and said that it “has to be in the next FIFA game”. At the time, he also criticized his virtual hair. In the run-up to FC 25, footballers had complained mainly about their new stats – Lamine Yamal, Arda Güler and Endrick as well as Justin Njinmah were dissatisfied.
