Bastian Schweinsteiger is an EM expert at ARD.
A social media post apparently brings Schweini into trouble with the public TV broadcaster.
Rome - Bastian Schweinsteiger * is in continuous action at the European Championships *.
The EM * expert from ARD * flies from one venue to the next at the pan-European tournament.
Schweinsteiger reports live from the stadium together with presenter Jessy Wellmer.
At the European Championship quarter-finals in Rome between England and the Ukraine (4-0), Schweini made a bad mistake - now there is a risk of trouble with his employer.
EM: ARD expert Schweinsteiger causes confusion with clock
Schweinsteiger tweeted two photos at half time.
One showed him in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the other a close-up of his arm.
In the background: the blurred playing field.
Nothing reprehensible in and of itself.
Since the end of his career, the 2014 world champion has regularly shared his life with his fans in the form of pictures on social networks.
The photos clearly show his watch on his left wrist.
"Time for the 2nd half" ("Time for the second half") writes Schweinsteiger.
All of this could pass as well-disguised surreptitious advertising.
Problem: Schweinsteiger linked watch manufacturer Garmin at the end of the tweet.
A possible background could be that he has been the testimonial of the Swiss-American company since 2019.
The model he wore (MARQ Athlete Performance) costs 1700 euros.
In previous games, the 36-year-old always had the microphone in his right hand and the watch mostly hidden under his jacket on his left hand.
Curiously, he wore the watch on his right wrist during the game between Germany and England.
It was not until the quarter-finals in Rome that the right-hander took the microphone in his left hand, so that the watch on his left wrist flashed into the camera.
Schweinsteiger threatens to get into trouble surreptitious advertising - ARD examines paid advertising partnership
Schweinsteiger initially did not comment publicly on the incident. In contrast to ARD, the broadcaster took a stand. "Like all of our programs, the ARD broadcasts of EURO 2020 are subject to the ARD advertising guidelines, which exclude any form of surreptitious advertising and unspecified product placement," said an ARD announcement. The fact that Schweinsteiger wore a watch during the Ukraine-England match "and published a post on social media at half-time without our knowledge as part of a paid advertising partnership will be checked and evaluated".
Schweinsteiger has been working for the first since last year. The contract is valid up to and including 2022, including the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Now he is in trouble. The consequences of the deliberate mishap will be revealed in the next few days after the ARD examines it. In any case, on Tuesday (July 6th) Schweinsteiger will again be an expert for the first semi-final between Italy and Spain *. Then the influencer will probably double and triple check every publication on their social channels.
(ck) * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA