Player data and GDPR

[i used to be sc_owl]

This could be very interesting…..

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-58873132

[Ellis Rimmer]

Greedy footballers seeing if there is some way they can get more money

 

”I don’t consent to you knowing I scored 3 goals last season and that I’m 5’10”

[scram]

The data would be anonymised and any data collection should be with the consent of those whose data is being harvested

 

I would imagine that there are clauses in contracts etc that give consent for data collection

 

There are specific consent forms for a variety of things - especially at younger age groups - such as consent to film training/games, consent to treat for emergency and medical reasons

 

there are reams of normative data for demographics such as height, weight, ethnicity etc etc - not really sure why footballers think they are special in this regard

 

Stating that information from data capture shows the height of the average GK playing professionally in England is 6' 3" is hardly intrusive and damaging

 

And yes, i'm fully aware of the reams of data points generated in football

[Maddogbob]

2 minutes ago, scram said:

 

 

There are specific consent forms for a variety of things - especially at younger age groups - such as consent to film training/games, consent to treat for emergency and medical reasons

 

 

Yup! Fill those forms out EVERY YEAR!

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, scram said:

The data would be anonymised and any data collection should be with the consent of those whose data is being harvested

 

I would imagine that there are clauses in contracts etc that give consent for data collection

 

There are specific consent forms for a variety of things - especially at younger age groups - such as consent to film training/games, consent to treat for emergency and medical reasons

 

there are reams of normative data for demographics such as height, weight, ethnicity etc etc - not really sure why footballers think they are special in this regard

 

Stating that information from data capture shows the height of the average GK playing professionally in England is 6' 3" is hardly intrusive and damaging

 

And yes, i'm fully aware of the reams of data points generated in football

 

That's what I thought, I would expect contracts to include this sort of thing for most of the stats used.

 

In terms of the height and weight stuff, though, personal data that cannot be seen by the general public (unlike shots on goal etc.) this information is not anonymised on many statistical websites and if it is inaccurate data that 3rd parties are including when making money out of stats then I can see an argument for wanting that sort of stuff removed. 

 

You can find players weight and height on various 3rd party websites, where do they get that info from, how accurate is it and why do they have the right to publish that personal data?  

[scram]

I know a PL player that this season refused to even get weighed at his club

 

Which is his right unless its specifically written into a signed contract which he signed - may or not have been

 

Same as any other data that is not anonymised - it's up to the individual whether that information should be used and if it is then explicit consent for the use of that persons data should be available

 

So it's not straightforward - i suspect there are paragraphs in contracts that kind of imply consent - but how watertight and specific they are and whether they would stand up to legal scrutiny is another matter

 

Football (maybe all sport) has long been very lax around issues of confidentiality tbh - it's something that medical professionals in particular have regularly tried to address

 

The general public can't get their head around how a player has the right to withold his medical information from everybody else in the club including coaches and managers - it hardly ever happens and tbh footballers generally seem very relaxed about the world knowing their medical history

 

That may change if theres money to be made though

[i used to be sc_owl]

I think part of the problem is the collection of data about specific data for scouting players and teams. 
 

I can’t see how the players would win this one though. I suppose the only argument that might stand a chance is that by having a third party sell data about them, it’s stealing their “property” *shrugs* don’t know…. Be interesting to see how the story develops though. 

[markg]

Depending on where the data is sent to, how the contract is written, where and how pseudonymisation is appropriately applied, whether right for be forgotten or subject access requests are handled properly  etc then on the base of it I can easily see how the players might have a case.

 

 

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, i used to be sc_owl said:

I think part of the problem is the collection of data about specific data for scouting players and teams. 
 

I can’t see how the players would win this one though. I suppose the only argument that might stand a chance is that by having a third party sell data about them, it’s stealing their “property” *shrugs* don’t know…. Be interesting to see how the story develops though. 

 

Clubs around the world pay 3rd party companies for player data. 

While much of this may be in the public domain or available to anyone watching games in detail in terms of performance stats, personal data is much more nuanced. 

 

Details about a players height or weight for example, while it is possible to get a fair approximation of this from sight, the exact details may be restricted. 

If players have not signed anything contractually that allows the sharing of their personal data, why should 3rd parties be able to make money from selling information that includes these details and things such as body mass? 

 

Also, as has been the case, sometimes these 'facts' can be inaccurately reported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53557706

If players weight, height, body mass etc. is being inaccurately recorded and sold for scouting or transfer purposes the it is right to question who is storing this data, where they are getting it from and who they are passing it on to. 

 

[Adem Poric]

1 hour ago, scram said:

I know a PL player that this season refused to even get weighed at his club

 

Had he just come back from holiday and not done any summer work? 

 

Joking aside this is surely something a player would agree to. You hear constantly of players having to report back to preseason at a specific weight and they are given programs through the summer so their fitness doesn't drop off too much. The weighing of players would surely fall under health and fitness assessments.

[scram]

New signing

[Anthndav]

Could be interesting when viewed through the lense of video gaming industry. Football Manager, FIFA and iSoccer (or whatever it is) having to pay for simple statistical data.

[sheffield_dave]

19 minutes ago, Anthndav said:

Could be interesting when viewed through the lense of video gaming industry. Football Manager, FIFA and iSoccer (or whatever it is) having to pay for simple statistical data.

Yeah my first thought on reading this was actually Football Manager. 
 

That could actually loop back around into real world consequences as well and go full circle. It’s well known the FM database is used by professional clubs, including at Premier League level.

[scram]

They'll be able to get a lot of data from analysing matches with appropriate software - things like top speed, acceleration, deceleration, distance run, distance of high speed running, average speed

 

All PL clubs have pretty much every data point on players in all other PL teams already

 

I suppose the moot point is who owns the data?

 

If a tech company analyses a televised match for eg and manages to harvest data from it - who (if anyone) owns that data - the player? Club? TV company? Tech company who analysed and extracted the data? Is it freely available as it is at a public event?

 

Legal eagles could be getting quite busy with this

[markg]

I work in data protection and without knowing the ins and outs of what the claim is for, it is easy to imagine that the players here do have a potential claim. Already in here people who were saying that the players didn't have a leg to stand on are now sitting back and thinking more about it.

 

I worked with a few football clubs during the initial phases of the GDPR coming in to force and they were some of the most unprepared clients, generally speaking, that I worked with at that stage and it does not surprise me at all that there are still going concerns.

[cazzaswfc]

3 hours ago, markg said:

 

 

I worked with a few football clubs during the initial phases of the GDPR coming in to force and they were some of the most unprepared clients, generally speaking, that I worked with at that stage and it does not surprise me at all that there are still going concerns.

 

Heard similar, especially around Supporters personal details.  

 

Be Wikpedia next, although it's an area of legislation for GDPR possibly not thought about it does stink of a way of earning more money.