Harry Maguire says he did not give permission for the Conservative Party to use an image of him and his partner on social media.
The photo is of the footballer talking to his then girlfriend – now his wife – Fern Hawkins after England‘s penalty shootout win over Colombia in the 2018 World Cup in Moscow.
It went viral at the time, with even Maguire himself posting it with the caption: “Can you ask the neighbours to put the bins out on Monday? We’re not going home just yet.”
But this week the Tories used the photo for a tweet following the publication of the Football Governance Bill, which will lead to the launch of an independent football regulator.
The photo is captioned: “Rishi said any League with me in it would be Super always.”
The government says the bill will give the regulator powers including ensuring clubs are sustainably run and blocking teams from joining unapproved competitions such as the European Super League.
In comments reported by The Daily Telegraph and others, Maguire was asked if he was aware of the Tories using the photo and he said: “No, I haven’t seen it.”
When asked if they had asked for permission, he said: “No, they have had no permission.
“I didn’t even know about the advert, to be honest, so I will have a look after this.”
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Legally, copyright of the image belongs to the photographer, who works for photo agency Getty Images.
Sky News has asked the Conservative Party for comment.