Dutch Football Players Implicated in NFT Insider Information Scandal

Dutch gaming authorities are investigating the sports NFT platform Sorare after several Ajax players traded NFTs based on insider information.

Sorare’s sports NFT platform is a fantasy football game in which users buy and trade players’ cards, and then use their collection of players to go head to head with other users’ lineups. The performance of a user’s team will depend on the actual game-day statistics of the actual football players. A player’s performance on the field can drive up the value of their individual NFT sports card.

Sorare currently has an exclusive deal to produce NFTs for the Eredivisie, the top Football league in the Netherlands. 

The KNVB, the Dutch national football organization, is keeping a close eye on the situation. All employees, including players, are forbidden from gambling on games, and competitions. However, with Cryptocurrency being unregulated, it will be hard to launch an investigation in this new market.

Transactions from certain Ajax players have led many to believe there was some form of insider trading with the NFTs.

In the KNVB cup final last Sunday, in which Ajax lost to PSV Eindhoven 2-1, Maarten Stekelenburg started in goal, after he replaced Andre Onana in the lineup.

In what seemed like a normal changeup for a cup game, fans pointed out it looked very similar to two transactions made by Daley Blind and Davey Klaassen on Sorare.

The players had each bought a Stekelenburg NFT just days prior to the cup match while selling their Onana cards. This move is what raised a red flag.

Ajax manager Eric Ten Hag said it is unlikely that any of his players knew of the lineup changes. 

Ten Hag commented, “ I wouldn’t know, I will not announce the lineup until Sunday morning”.

Sorare is currently valued at $4.3 Billion, and currently has 10 professional football leagues signed to exclusive sports token deals.