The U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) froze over 10 million pounds ($13.5 million) of cash held by the soccer Premier League.
The order to freeze the funds, obtained from Westminster Magistrates' Court in January 2025 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, is understood to relate to the first payment made by Sorare under its $140 million, four-year partnership deal with the Premier League, signed in 2023, The Sun reported Tuesday. The deal was terminated at the end of last season. There is no suspicion of wrongdoing by the Premier League.
"The purpose of the order is to prevent dissipation of the funds while the NCA investigates any potential links between those funds and alleged third-party criminality," an NCA spokesperson said in a statement via email. The agency did not specify the crime it is investigating.
Neither the Premier League nor Sorare responded to CoinDesk’s request for further comment.
The freeze comes as U.K. regulators have been tightening scrutiny of crypto sponsorship deals in football. The Financial Conduct Authority warned Premier League clubs that partnerships with unauthorized crypto firms could breach financial services laws.
The NCA investigation is separate from a Gambling Commission prosecution against Sorare, which was charged in September 2024 with providing unlicensed gambling facilities in the first action brought against a blockchain-based platform under the Gambling Act 2005. Sorare denies any wrongdoing in both matters.
Sorare runs a fantasy sports digital card game where users build virtual teams using digital player cards, initially as a crypto-only marketplace using ETH and SOL before allowing cash transactions in August 2023. The company listed Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Zinedine Zidane among its ambassadors. Messi announced his international retirement on Monday.
The Premier League is seeking to vary the terms of the freezing order, which runs to September 14, in a court hearing on Monday.