ASA bans Football Index advert

The regulatory authority from the UK ASA has revealed that an advert from Football Index has been banned for using underage footballers.

UK.- The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has revealed that a paid-for Facebook ad for Football Index has been banned. The ad in question featured footballers younger than 25, and under ASA rules, that is illegal.

Football Index’s advert, promoted through a gambling app, featured Jadon Sancho, from Borussia Dortmund, Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and Kylian Mbappé from PSG, all under 25.

The current CAP Code in the UK establishes that no one who is (or seems to be) under 25 can be featured playing a significant role in marketing communications. The ad in question promoted a gambling app that allowed consumers to act as though they were playing a football stock market and could replicate buying and selling shares in particular footballers.

“We understood the intention of the ad was to illustrate the nature of the gambling app and how it could be played. However, we considered that of equal measure was its aim to offer the audience an opportunity to use the app for the purposes of gambling. In that context, while the significance of the players under 25 was no greater than the other players featured, we considered that all listed footballers were the focus of the post, and that each of them played an equally significant role in the marketing communication,” explained ASA.

Mike Bohan, Football Index’s Marketing Director, said: “We have reviewed our marketing practices to ensure they are compliant with the advertising regulations and accurately represent Football Index’s socially responsible platform.”