Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland has sued his country’s airline after it photoshopped his signature ponytail onto a plane, a gag the carrier says was only national pride.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and York Promotions Ltd. have filed a lawsuit against Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA over a social media post that slapped his well-known hairdo onto one of the airline’s aircraft, OutKick reported.
The post showed a plane with Haaland’s ponytail and shaved sides perched on top. The caption read: “We’ve never looked more Norwegian.”
The airline later deleted the post. A hearing is set for October 9 in Oslo.
Haaland is one of the biggest names in world soccer and a national figure in Norway. He recently cut the signature ponytail with shaved sides that the airline used in the image.
Norwegian Air does not sound impressed by the case.
Press officer Eivind Hammer Myhre said the company received a lawsuit it does not understand.
"It is true that we have received a lawsuit that we do not understand."
Myhre tied the post to summer cheering for Norway’s national team and to trends already running on social media.
"We, like almost all of Norway, have been involved in cheering on the national team this summer through a few spontaneous posts based on trends in social media."
Norwegian outlet VG first reported the filing. The OutKick write-up credits that coverage. Court papers, the exact legal claims, and any demand for damages are not laid out in the available reporting.
What is clear is the sequence. The airline posted the plane-with-ponytail image. The post vanished. Haaland and York Promotions then sued. Oslo has a hearing date on the calendar.
York Promotions Ltd. is named as a co-filer with Haaland. Its precise role as management or rights holder is not spelled out beyond the joint filing.
The dispute sits at the edge of modern publicity rights and social media humor. A national carrier leaned on a star player’s look for a quick patriotic gag. The player and his promotion company answered with lawyers.
No damages figure has been reported. No full complaint text has been quoted. The platform for the original post is not named. The airline’s public line remains that the posts were spontaneous and tied to national-team support “this summer.”
Haaland’s side has not offered a public statement in the same reporting. The case now heads toward the October 9 hearing in Oslo, where a court will have to sort a photoshopped hairdo from a legal claim.
When a joke plane haircut ends up on a docket, even fans of the star can wonder how thin the line has gotten between a meme and a lawsuit.
