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Crypto could be a rip off for fans

Financial Times columnist Chris Cook has launched an onslaught on the bromance of football clubs with crypto, saying that it is time they stopped playing with it.

Football author Martin Callandine told the Pink 'Un: 'fans outsource some of their judgement to their team's commercial department.  And that's dangerous when clubs are endorsing unregulated products with no consumer protection.'   Terms like 'investment' and 'trading' are used in relation to crypto, but with none of the normally safeguards that apply to them.

Last November Manchester City signed a marketing partnership with crypto company 3Key.  This was justified by the usual marketing patter, but a week later City said that the partnership was suspended while they conducted further inquiries (which they should surely have made in the first place).

Southampton has been promoting learn-crypto.com, a site aimed at beginners.   My general view is that if sounds too good to be true it probably is and never invest in anything you don't understand.

Easy crypto-marketing clubs looks attractive to financially challenged clubs.  Cook says: 'if nothing changes, a financial disaster for fans and a PR disaster for clubs is likely to ensue.  Clubs will be blamed.  And they might end up with an even tougher regulator breathing down their necks.'

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