What Can Players And Clubs Do About 'AI Slop'?
By.
Dale Johnson
Football concerns correspondent
2 March 2026
506 Comments
You do not have to look far on social media to discover images and videos of footballers in unlikely or bizarre situations.
Scroll through TikTok and you may quickly come across Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo cutting each other's hair, or boarding the Titanic in Edwardian dress. You may even see Kylian Mbappe on a ski-lift with a turtle.
This is the outcome of the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI). Or, more specifically, AI 'slop'.
AI can be asked to deliver basically anything. By anyone. The tools are ending up being ever more advanced and quickly available.
It will end up being even harder to identify what is genuine and what is, in AI terms, deepfake.
It might appear, for the most part, like safe fun. After all, who actually thinks Messi and Ronaldo have been serving burgers?
But is there a point at which players and clubs will attempt to fix a limit?
Options are limited for gamers to act
As football has actually become a business juggernaut, players and clubs have had to discover how to look after their brands.
That could be by safeguarding the club crest or challenging using a gamer's name in unauthorised marketing product.
Take Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer, who has actually trademarked the term 'Cold Palmer' with the UK federal government's Intellectual Property Office. The 23-year-old did the exact same with his name, sign and signature 'shivering' event.
Creating protections is something. Having the ability to tackle this new AI world of relentless content is another.
In the UK there is limited legislation covering someone's similarity. Or, as it is contacted football, image rights.
Jonty Cowan, legal director at law office Wiggin LLP, told BBC Sport that AI was providing "lots of unique obstacles".
" Various federal governments worldwide are attempting to find out ... how do we react to AI?" said Cowan.
AI is being used to put players into real-life circumstances, as well as those more obviously phony.
Take the unveilings of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi by Manchester City in January.
The club's main photos reveal each player with director of football Hugo Viana. Yet before those images had even been taken, you could discover AI images of Semenyo and Guehi signing a contract along with supervisor Pep Guardiola.
There was another of Semenyo being welcomed at the training centre by previous player Yaya Toure, whose old team number - 42 - he was expected to take.
None of these occasions happened, but it was impossible to tell the photos were phony.
Last month, an image appeared of Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick with Frank Ilett - the fan who won't cut his hair up until the Red Devils win 5 video games in a row.
Once once again, it did not take place however looks so practical.
And Cowan said it was challenging for there to be any option when material is provided "in a non-contentious manner".
Unless an individual has actually suffered commercial or reputational damage, choices are restricted.
" It's always been rather challenging for a private to enforce IP rights," Cowan said. "If it is a deepfake that is showing them in a compromising position, let's say, that's different."
The Data (Use and Access) Act entered into force last month, making it a criminal offense to develop, share or demand a sexually specific deepfake.
But then you have AI-generated videos such as Celtic's Luke McCowan punching an assistant referee. Could it harm his credibility, or is it just not believeable?
A more important concern for players might be 'passing off'. This is where someone unfairly associates their own service or products with the reputation and goodwill of an established brand or business - or player.
It is planned to mislead consumers into believing they connected to it - to the detriment of the established brand.
Cowan described that in December 2024, as part of an AI-related consultation, the UK federal government stated it was thinking about "presenting some type of personality right".
That would offer a gamer more scope to take action.
Clubs, for their part, have a couple of more alternatives available to them.
Social media accounts putting gamers in the t-shirts of their new team - or any group - is absolutely nothing brand-new.
But what if a club wanted to differ?
" Where you've got, for example, the Man City set they might take a look at other IP rights," Cowan said.
" Have they infringed the trademark in their crest? Or design rights in their shirt? For that type of image, that's what a club or a person would likely be taking a look at."
BBC Sport understands City believe fans understand official channels stay the only places to opt for any real news, images or videos.
But as the lines blur even more, will clubs keep that position?
Tackling platforms more practical than court action
While clubs and gamers might consider taking the developers of AI images to court, it is a long and pricey battle.
Cowan states there is a quicker and less expensive route: challenge the platforms directly.
" The Online Safety Act has actually been introduced in the UK just recently, and that is putting an obligation on platforms to tackle illegal content," he added.
" It might well be that we will see more mechanisms that platforms will introduce to have that content removed. Often, that is the easiest and quickest method to take on these images."
This might lead to a development in companies taking care of the digital rights of clubs and players.
Those that already exist scrape sites and apps - utilizing AI, naturally - to determine where a company's copyright or an individual's image may have been utilized.
They can request takedowns, effectively taking on using AI without the impacted celebrations getting directly involved.
Bad stars may use AI for dubious methods
AI provides chances as well as problems. Adverts and marketing material can be developed without players even needing to leave their homes.
But together with the authentic AI-generated adverts, it is simple for unauthorised parties to take a player's likeness and use it to promote their service.
In 2015 the oversight board that runs Meta's appeals process prohibited an advert for a betting app on Facebook, external that was produced using AI.
It featured a manipulated video of former Brazil striker Ronaldo which imitated his voice. It was not gotten by Meta's automated detection tools.
Meta was informed to develop "easily identifiable indicators that differentiate AI content" to prevent "considerable amounts of scam content".
It was a prime example of a platform being challenged and forced to act.
The Football Association has had to tackle controversy, too.
England head coach Gareth Southgate was targeted during Euro 2024. Fake AI-generated interviews revealed Southgate making derogatory remarks about his gamers.
The videos were reported and removed. They were found to have breached TikTok's AI-generated policy, which forbids material that "wrongly reveals public figures in specific contexts".
But by that point, the videos had been seen and shared by millions of people.
Should users be forced to state they have utilized AI?
Scrolling through apps today, it is unusual for anybody to suggest AI has been utilized.
That is even with TikTok's community guidelines asking users to "label realistic AI-generated material" and banning content thought about to "harmfully mislead or impersonate others".
Cowan believes there is unlikely to be any significant change to legislation, but platforms could be given .
" There are openness requirements under the EU AI Act," Cowan described, with the act not covering the UK.
" Under marketing guidelines, influencers need to divulge where a video they produce has actually been sponsored.
" I believe we may end up with comparable transparency requirements. A little '#AI generated' or similar label in the corner."
The issue will be whether developers care, and how easy enforcement is for platforms.
Cowan added: "If you have actually got those outright videos, where someone's putting out a horrible deepfake, they're not going to stress over adding that label."
For now, at least, it appears clubs are not too concerned - that AI is simply something happening on social networks.
There might come a point they choose more action is needed.