850 footballers are demanding compensation from 17 firms after players performance information was published without their consent. Data like the players, height, average goals per game, which the players do not receive any payment for. Under article 4 of GDPR details “personal data” as “any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person”.
BBC News reports that the 17 firms served with letters include betting companies, data collection groups and entertainment channels but the group has highlighted potentially over 150 firms that it believes has misused data.
Former Cardiff City manager Russell Slade is leading the group. Slade said “It's incredible where it's used. On one player, and I'm not talking about a Premier League player or even a Championship player, there were some 7,000 pieces of information on one individual player at a lower league football club. There are companies that are taking that data and processing that data without the individual consent of that player. A big part of our journey has been looking at that ecosystem and plotting out where that data starts, who are processing it, where it finishes and that's a real global thing. It's making football - and all sports - aware of the implications and what needs to change.”
If the group are successful, it could drastically change data collection as players will have more control over what information is made available to the wider public with players also financially benefiting from the use of their data.
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