The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a ruling that Premier League football club Arsenal FC misled fans with cryptocurrency-related adverts.
The ASA had argued that the ads, which appeared on the club’s website and Facebook page, failed to illustrate the risk of the investment.
The webpage, published on 6th August 2021, was entitled ‘$AFC Fan Token: Everything you need to know’. It included information explaining the Arsenal Fan Token and the benefits it offered.
The page included text at the bottom that stated: “In order to buy $AFC fan tokens you need to purchase the cryptocurrency Chiliz. Please remember that the future value of Fan Tokens is dependent on supply and demand, and can therefore go up as well as down.
“Fans should be aware that they could lose some or all of their money invested. We advise you to spend only what you can afford and seek independent financial advice if required.”
The post on Arsenal’s Facebook page, posted on 12th August 2021, included text that stated: “$AFC is now live $CHZ… Ben White, Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney have had their say… But what song do you want to hear when we win? Download the Socios app to get your token and vote.”
The ASA argued that they did not make clear that the tokens were cryptoassets, which could only be obtained by opening a cryptoassets exchange account, and in the case of paid-for fan tokens, required the purchase of another cryptocurrency.
It also said the ads were irresponsible because they took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity and trivialised engaging with and investing in cryptoassets.
It ordered Arsenal to take down the adverts late last year.
The Gunners appealed the decision, arguing that the post on its website was educational and included a warning. However the ASA took issue with the fact that this was at the bottom of the ad, meaning some users might not see it, and did not make consumers aware that paid-for Fan Tokens were unregulated in the UK.
The club also argued that fans had enough time before the publication of the Facebook post to become aware of the website post, while that ad did not promote the fan token as an investment that would bring capital gain or encourage the trading of cryptocurrencies.
Again, the ASA disagreed. It has ruled that the ads must not appear in that form again, and ordered the club to provide sufficient information about the fan tokens as an investment and cryptoassets.