Bruno Fernandes, captain of Manchester United, saw his name and image usurped in a fraudulent scheme that used artificial intelligence to deceive fans and customers. The news comes at a time when the Portuguese international is still celebrating one of the best seasons of his career with the Red Devils.
After a brilliant second half of the season, Bruno Fernandes was a key player in Manchester United finishing third in the English league. The Portuguese midfielder also reached a historic individual milestone, registering 21 assists in the Premier League, breaking the all-time record for the competition. However, not everything was a reason to celebrate, as Portugal was eliminated by Spain in the World Cup round of 16, with the creative player registering only one assist and failing to score any goals, going largely unnoticed while representing the national team.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, both Bruno Fernandes and Jude Bellingham, star of Real Madrid and the English national team, were victims of fraud, with their names and images illegally appropriated by online casinos. The publication reveals: “In a significant development, the illegal online casinos Nightwin and QH88 hijacked the identities of two of the world’s most famous players, Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes, to present them as official partners of their brands.” To do this, they resorted to “the use of fake news articles, photographs, and videos generated by artificial intelligence to deceive customers and make them believe that the stars' endorsement was legitimate.”
In the specific case of Bruno Fernandes, the Vietnamese betting and casino site QH88 “built an entire portal around the false association of the Portuguese international with the brand and invested considerable resources in producing a deepfake video, generated by AI, that realistically simulates the midfielder signing a supposed ambassador contract with representatives of QH88” at Old Trafford.
Neither Bruno Fernandes' representation team, nor Manchester United, nor QH88 itself provided statements to The Guardian when questioned about the case. The English newspaper also emphasizes that violations of image and copyright rights by these sites are common, explaining: “the emblems of famous clubs and photographs of players are routinely used to promote brands that completely disregard image rights and registered trademarks, as these operators know that any type of enforcement is impossible.” This occurs because the platforms almost always operate from offshore jurisdictions and use various shell companies to conceal their true identity.
With the increasing sophistication of these schemes, fueled by artificial intelligence technology, concerns about digital security and the protection of public figures in the sports world are growing. It remains to be seen how Bruno Fernandes and the entities involved will react, but the case serves as a warning about the increasingly real impact of digital fraud in global football.
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