Russell Slade Suing Football Data Collection Businesses

[sidders]

Quite a poser, this one. In no way are players the authors of the data recorded in their name so nothing is being stolen in that sense. But, on the other hand, making such data public without requesting the player's consent is probably an offence.
I run a website for the village in which I live. Recently I did a short feature on a new playground constructed for an estate. Part of this was a snap I took of the playground from several yards away (100?) There were some children using the playground at the time, but so distant as to be unidentifiable. However, I got an aggressive post from a mum saying that one of the children in the shot was her son and unless I removed the picture she would go to the police. For the sake of good relations I complied, though I doubt she would have got anywhere with such a report.
This story illustrates that data disclosure and the internet have many collision points which are still to be uncovered.

[ncfcog]

Interesting one this.

GDPR does have a section that has been included for physiological data such as height, weight, ethnicity etc, but other than that I think they've got a tough battle on their hands. For example, where does that info come from? Well it has to be either the club's themselves or the players management company/agent so at some point there must have been some consent from the player.

The other issue is of course relating to performance stats. Obviously there is always going to be errors in the collection of data. For example I've noticed on several occasions where a stats provider has recorded an assist for completely the wrong player. I'm assuming there is an element of players that are worried that their stats might have a bearing on career development if they are not very good.

Regarding the vests you see players wearing, these are supplied by different organisations. I think Notts use Catapult Sports. The clubs pay for these devices as it provides them with slightly different information relating to a players physical attributes such as how far they have run, heart rate, burst acceleration etc. I'm not sure if these are stats you generally get from companies like Football Radar, I certainly haven't seen any. I think things like heatmaps and all other stats you see in general use are created by 'Watchers' who collate all this information from match videos. So again, absolutely no breach of GDPR that I can tell from that.

As mentioned in an earlier post anyone can pay to watch a football match and collate a load of stats, right or wrong. Also, the original reason for all this data including things like xG etc was so the betting syndicates could find an edge on the bookmakers by being able to more accurately predict the outcome of certain matches, it's only in more recent times that the data is now being used for player development. Either way it will be interesting to keep an eye on how this progresses.

[Bushwacka]

GDPR does have a section that has been included for physiological data such as height, weight, ethnicity etc, but other than that I think they've got a tough battle on their hands. For example, where does that info come from? Well it has to be either the club's themselves or the players management company/agent so at some point there must have been some consent from the player.

Most of this data covered by GDPR Article 9 - personal data which are manifestly made public by the data subject;

The other issue is of course relating to performance stats. Obviously there is always going to be errors in the collection of data. For example I've noticed on several occasions where a stats provider has recorded an assist for completely the wrong player. I'm assuming there is an element of players that are worried that their stats might have a bearing on career development if they are not very good.

Correcting all individual pieces of data will be a logistical nightmare for players and analytics companies. And the ICO won't be interested in getting involved at this level.

[Bushwacka]

But, on the other hand, making such data public without requesting the player's consent is probably an offence.

The players have made it public. Otherwise, every newspaper match report and photograph for the last 150 years would be an offence.

The players will have to argue that there's a difference between what Football Radar do and what Leigh Curtis does. They both collect personal data on footballers and sell it to other people.

[Notts78]

This could open a real can of worms.

Games like FIFA and Champ Manager could be impacted as a lot of information are used in those games to provide an authentic feel for the player. The thing with FIFA is that the players get just as excited about their ratings.
I saw a you tube clip recently where Kev De B and Foden got hold of a bogus FIFA card for Kyle Walker, he went nuts.

I hope this gets chucked out.

[Notts78]

The players have made it public. Otherwise, every newspaper match report and photograph for the last 150 years would be an offence.

The players will have to argue that there's a difference between what Football Radar do and what Leigh Curtis does. They both collect personal data on footballers and sell it to other people.

A bit like Experian and Equifax for all of us.

[Bushwacka]

A bit like Experian and Equifax for all of us.

Yeah but I'm not asking Experian and Equifax to pay me for the data they hold.

Maybe Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer should pay every player that they analyse on Match of the Day.

Don't see this being successful, unless the players just request a copy of their own data (which anyone can do with Experian/Equifax or anyone else) and sell it on themselves.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

This could open a real can of worms.

Games like FIFA and Champ Manager could be impacted as a lot of information are used in those games to provide an authentic feel for the player. The thing with FIFA is that the players get just as excited about their ratings.
I saw a you tube clip recently where Kev De B and Foden got hold of a bogus FIFA card for Kyle Walker, he went nuts.

I hope this gets chucked out.

Games are generally covered by the league licensing. It will be included in their playing contract.

As that is then public data, as long as the data collection places reference where they got that data from, I can't see how the players and Slade have a claim

[keldsyke]

Hundreds of footballers have threatened legal action against the data collection industry, which could change how information is handled.

Led by former Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and Yeovil Town manager Russell Slade, 850 players want compensation for the trading of their performance data over the past six years.

They also want an annual fee from the companies for any future use.

"Letters before action" have been sent to 17 big firms, alleging data misuse.

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Data ranges from average goals-per-game for an outfield player to height - however, Mr Slade has previously expressed concern this is sometimes wrong.

If the group pursues legal action and is successful, it could lead to a radical change of a multi-billion pound industry behind professional sport that trades on players' information.

Slade's legal team said the fact players receive no payment for the unlicensed use of their data contravenes General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules that were strengthened in 2018.

Under Article 4 of the GDPR, "personal data" refers to a range or identifiable information, such as physical attributes, location data or physiological information.

BBC News understands that an initial 17 major betting, entertainment and data collection firms have been targeted, but Slade's Global Sports Data and Technology Group has highlighted more than 150 targets it believes have misused data.



"It's incredible where it's used," Slade said. "On one player, and I'm not talking about a Premier League player or even a Championship player, there was 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's 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."

How widespread is data collection?
The use of data in sport is nothing new. Its collection, distribution and use has become a staple part of the modern sporting environment, be it by clubs to manage player performance, or by third party companies to base things like odds on.

If the move is successful, the implications could have far-reaching effects beyond football.

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BBC News understand discussions are already underway within other professional sports to bring potential legal action regarding the trading of data.

Former Wales international Dave Edwards, one the players behind the move, said it was a chance for players to take more control of the way information about them is used.

Having seen how data has become a staple part of the modern game, he believes players rights to how information about them is used should be at the forefront of any future use.

"The more I've looked into it and you see how our data is used, the amount of channels its passed through, all the different organisations which use it, I feel as a player we should have a say on who is allowed to use it," he said.



"If you were in another job, if you were a teacher or a lawyer and this sort of details was being passed around your field of work it wouldn't sit right with that person.

"I don't think we, as individuals really differ from that."

The lawyer behind Global Sports Data and Technology's action, Chris Farnell, believes it could be start of a sport-wide reshaping of how data is traded.

"This will be significant change if the precedent is set throughout football and how data is used throughout sport in general," he said.

"It will change significantly how that data is being used and how it's going to be rewarded."

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[Chicken Balti Pie]

We already have a thread on this? Do we really need another?