The Premier League, Football Association and UEFA are all seeking legal advice over whether pictures of cartoon monkeys promoted online by, among others, former Chelsea captain John Terry infringe copyright law.
The non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are unique digital assets purchased using cryptocurrency and in many cases worth five figures, feature cartoonised trophies including the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.
As first reported by the Daily Telegraph, the Premier League trophy is trademarked and any commercial use must be agreed with the governing body.
The NFTs promoted by Terry, in addition to former Chelsea winger Willian and former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, are an affiliate of the ‘Bored Ape Yacht Club’ [BAYC] which uses the Ethereum cryptocurrency.
BAYC gained popularity among the rich and famous of America last year, with rapper Eminem, comedian Jimmy Fallon and basketball star Stephen Curry all making significant investments.
And that influence has spread to football across Europe, with Terry among the most prominent promoters in England. The 41-year-old was appointed to a consultancy role in Chelsea's academy last month.
Current Chelsea and England full-back Reece James, former team-mate Tammy Abraham and ex left-back Ashley Cole have also posted about it on personal social media channels.
While NFT investors argue that it is no different to purchasing a piece of physical art, critics have warned that there are significant financial risks because they are only available via volatile and unregulated cryptocurrencies.
There are fears that the influence of celebrities could convince regular people to make speculative and risky investments, that the tokens are a bubble waiting to burst and it being a recent phenomenon makes it unclear whether there is clear resale value.
