Arsenal Supporters' Trust has issued a strong statement to fans warning them of the dangers of cryptocurrency firm Socios following a watchdog investigation.
The Gunners engaged in a controversial partnership with the firm amid the current rise in cryptocurrencies.
Some supporters took exception to the partnership, and now The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that Arsenal were in two breaches of advertising standards following two posts shared on the official club Facebook account promoting the cryptocurrency back in August, as reported by the BBC.
Following the ruling, the Arsenal Supporters' Trust has issued their reply.
Taking to Twitter, they wrote: “This ruling reiterates concerns the AST raised when Arsenal first entered into a partnership with a cryptocurrency firm.
“We warned the club then that they needed to show a duty of care around the marketing of the Socios token. Both the Government & football authorities should now intervene and address appropriateness of Arsenal, & other clubs, partnering with unregulated cryptocurrency companies.
“Clubs should not be allowed to use football’s popularity to push an inherently high risk product. If these partnerships are to continue then greater effort must be made to ensure marketing materials protects young supporters & informs fans of downside involved in buying tokens.
“In summary, if you are Arsenal fan be extremely cautious of Socios. You don’t need it to engage with Arsenal and you have a high chance of losing your money.”
The ASA ruling now dictates that Arsenal must ensure the advertisements “must not appear again in the form complained about”, whilst also making clear that the fan-tokens on offer are crypto-assets.
Arsenal are currently not the only Premier League side to be involved in a partnership with Socios. A further seven clubs in the top-flight of English football have or are considering launching their own fan tokens.
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