A sudden and shocking development has rocked commercial circles in Trabzon. Using Mohamed Salah's name in advertising campaigns has turned into a legal nightmare that has cost 21 companies more than 50 million Turkish lira, and the behind-the-scenes details reveal a heavyweight international legal move.
The story began with a recent warning from Trabzonspor. The club cautioned companies and shops against using Salah's name in campaigns, advertisements and commercial promotion outside the scope of the club's commercial activities and without the necessary licences.
At first glance the statement looked like a routine measure to protect the club's rights. The truth, according to informed sources cited by Turkish website "61saat", was entirely different and far more serious.
The secret warning from London
Trabzonspor's move was no unilateral decision. It came out of necessity after the club received a formal and strict legal warning from a well-known British law firm that directly represents Salah.
The rights to use the name, image and logo of stars of Salah's calibre are protected by extremely strict contracts, as everyone in the game knows. Salah's representatives asked the Trabzonspor management to take all necessary measures to stop the unauthorised commercial use of their client's rights.
Faced with this warning, Trabzonspor had to act immediately within the framework of its contractual and legal obligations. The club wanted to avoid any legal consequences that could hit it directly should the companies continue to exploit Salah's name.
21 companies in the dock
Some companies ignored the warning. Others failed to grasp the scale of the consequences.
According to confirmed information, the measures took an escalating turn. The club launched actual legal action against 21 companies operating in Trabzon and other Turkish provinces, and the total value of the claims and legal penalties arising from this allegedly exceeds 50 million Turkish lira.
Some companies rushed to remove their advertisements and campaigns mentioning Salah's name from shop fronts and social media after the warning. It did not stop the pursuit. Legal proceedings remain in place over the earlier uses, and some shop owners reportedly received direct calls from lawyers informing them that proceedings against them had begun.
Between the law and economic circumstances
In private remarks, a number of the affected business owners insisted they had no intention of harming Trabzonspor or Salah. Facing these astronomical figures amid difficult economic circumstances is a catastrophic burden, they said, and they had never expected the consequences of using a name in an advertising campaign to be this serious.
What makes the irony worse is that some of these companies had been sponsors or supporters of Trabzonspor at various times. That places the case between two dimensions: the protection of the strict legal rights of global stars, and the economic difficulties of well-intentioned shop owners.
A clear message to all of Turkey
This is no mere advertising oversight measure by Trabzonspor. It is a strongly worded warning to every company in Trabzon and across Turkey: using Salah's name in any advertisement or promotional offer without permission and the necessary commercial rights could cost millions.
Deleting the advertisement from Instagram does not end the case, and that is the crucial point. The previous use alone is enough to expose the company to legal accountability and hefty compensation.