Fifa blocks Rosberg’s use of World Cup image on helmet

Fifa has defended its decision to ban Nico Rosberg from carrying an image of the World Cup on his celebratory helmet for this weekend’s German Grand Prix.

Following Germany’s fourth World Cup triumph on Sunday via their 1-0 victory over Argentina at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, an ecstatic Rosberg immediately sought to reflect his team’s achievement.

On Tuesday, Rosberg tweeted a picture of the helmet he had planned to wear at Hockenheim, resplendent with the colours of the German flag.

Primarily, it was adorned with four stars to indicate the number of times they have been crowned champions, whilst on top was an image of the World Cup.

Fifa, however, caught wind of the situation and contacted Rosberg’s manager Georg Nolte to inform him his driver would have to remove the image.

“If Fifa would not follow up on any potential infringements of its intellectual property, it would risk losing its legal right and title to such works, thereby endangering the foundation of its commercial programme.”

“We appreciate Nico Rosberg’s desire to congratulate the German team and have therefore been in discussions with the Rosberg team to attempt to find a solution, whereby he is still able to show his support for Germany without using Fifa intellectual property in a commercial context.”

The new helmet, tweeted yesterday by Rosberg, now figures the four stars far more prominently complete with each of the years Germany have won the trophy, with this year’s the most significant.