Story highlights
John Terry's representatives order legal probe into alleged use of Chelsea star's image
A blurred picture resembling Terry has appeared in an Indian anti-smoking campaign
England captain's agency says that no permission was given to use the image
Terry faces court proceedings in February after being charged of racially abusing an opponent
England soccer captain John Terry endured a difficult end to last year, and his 2012 has begun in a bizarre manner involving an anti-smoking campaign in India.
The Chelsea defender’s representatives are investigating how Terry’s image might have been used without their permission as part of a warning on cigarette packets.
A blurred picture closely resembling the 31-year-old appears above a “smoking kills” slogan.
“It’s been brought to our attention that an image of our client has been used on some cigarette packaging without our consent or knowledge,” Elite Management said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We’ve now instructed our legal team to investigate this matter.”
The public relations officer of India’s health ministry told CNN that the picture that resembles Terry is not one of those pictures that it sanctioned.
However, one of the pictures seen on cigarette packets this week –which was cleared by the ministry and included in a May 2011 press release – does show a strong resemblance to Terry.
An official at India’s Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity earlier confirmed that the image had been cleared by the health ministry.
“We sent the creative to the health ministry and they then cleared it and circulated it,” KS Dhatwalia told the Indian Express. “But how Terry’s picture got to be used is not clear.”
Terry faces court proceedings in February after being charged by London police with racially abusing an opponent.
The Chelsea skipper denies aiming a racial slur at Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October.
