French midfielder Paul Pogba put aside a bottle of Heineken beer from his table at a press conference following his country's win over Germany at Euro 2020. His actions come on the heels of a similar incident involving megastar Cristiano Ronaldo, who had done the same with two bottles of Coca-Cola prior to Portugal's 3-0 victory over Hungary.
Pogba, a devout Muslim, took the bottle of Heineken and placed it on the floor before speaking to the press on Tuesday. Drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam.
The bottle Pogba removed was a nonalcoholic Heineken. It's unclear whether he knew that at the time, as the beverage’s packaging is similar to that of regular Heineken, as per the Insider.
Pogba stayed mum as he moved the Heineken, unlike Ronaldo, who scoffed while shifting the Coca-Cola bottles from his table on Monday.
The Juventus forward, who follows a very strict diet, said, "Coca-Cola, ugh" in apparent disgust, opting instead to drink from a bottle of water.
Markets Insider reported on Wednesday morning that the champion striker’s stunt coincided with Coca-Cola's shares dipping in value by 1.6%, which equated to a market-value drop of about $4 billion.
Coca-Cola responded to Ronaldo in a statement on Tuesday, saying, "Everyone is entitled to their drink preferences."
Pogba, who was voted man of the match as France pipped Germany 1-0 courtesy of a calamitous own goal from defender Mats Hummels, converted to Islam in 2019.
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