GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 04: Celtic non-executive chariman Peter Lawwell with CEO Michael Nicholson during a William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Kilmarnock at Celtic Park, on August 04, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Sportli have responded to the negative reviews on Trust Pilot about their new venture of selling virtual plots of Celtic Park.
For £29 a plot can be bought for 12 months confirmed by a certificate signed by Brendan Rodgers, for an extra £20 your virtual plot runs for three years!
Football fans are used to being offered dubious goods to demonstrate their support for a club but the latest venture from Celtic takes things a few steps further.
Almost any commodity from slippers to dressing gowns and golf balls can be bought with the club endorsement, fresh air however is an entirely new concept and clearly aimed at the fan who already has everything.
Social media has been fierce in the criticism of Sportli but with many negative reviews on Trust Pilot Celtic’s partners have decided to answer back.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. While we welcome feedback and discussions about Sportli, it’s important to clarify that your review appears to be based on a personal opinion rather than an experience as a customer of our platform.
Sportli is designed to provide football fans with innovative and affordable ways to support their clubs through virtual pitch ownership – and indeed many fans have chosen to buy it. It’s a concept similar to sponsoring a player—while the sponsor does not physically own the player, their contribution generates substantial revenue for the club, which benefits everyone involved. In the same way, Sportli’s virtual square ownership allow fans to directly support their teams while engaging in a unique and meaningful way.
We encourage individuals to explore the platform first hand before forming an opinion. Many of our customers find Sportli to be a rewarding way to connect with their clubs, and it makes a tangible difference in the funding that clubs receive through our licence agreements.
In regards to our commitment to the Foundation, our net profit from each sale is very marginal, by the time all costs are deducted (VAT, P&P, printing, embossing, license fees, etc) and we can assure you that our small donation for each sale is a sizeable proportion of that slim margin.
Another reply explained:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. While we welcome feedback and discussions about Sportli, it’s important to clarify that your review appears to be based on a personal opinion rather than an experience as a customer of our platform.
Our refund policy is transparent on the buying page. Because an electronic version of the certificate is emailed at the time of purchase, refunds are not possible, since the product has already been delivered, prior to the physical posted and framed one being despatched. This is also explained in detail on the mandatory T&Cs page prior to purchase.
In regards to our early adopter reviews being fake, we are intending on contacting our many customers in a bulk email in January for their honest reviews, based on their purchasing experience, not based on thoughts on what they think of the offering without ever having purchased or experienced it. Again, your review appears to be based on a personal opinion rather than an experience as a customer of our platform, in which many customers DO see value.
From every purchase £1 will be donated to the Celtic Foundation, direct payments can also be made to the Celtic charity and any other charity.
Was, is and forever will be a SHITE idea.
Just another way of fleecing fans of their hard earned money.
No surprise our Board got involved and forget the emotional blackmail of linking the Foundation
to such a slimey, sewer dredging enterprise.
?MONEY FOR NOTHING GETS YOU PROFITS FOR FREE.
No one is forcing any fan to buy this.
No one is forcing any fan to fall for this scam.
Corrected that for you. Free of charge.
You’re welcome. 🙂
If any of our Celtic supporting colleagues fall for this, I would suggest that they are incredibly stupid. You are buying NOTHING for £29. You are being conned. I don’t believe our support would fall for this, but they have been warned. If any do, they will get what they deserve a virtual (non-real) few square millimetres of imaginary turf.
A better idea would be donating to the Celtic Foundation.
If you want donate money to a charity,you can either contact Mary’s Meals or through SVDP
Help people directly,it is completely your choice,but please don’t take part in a scam,that gives a £1 to Foundation.I believe that most Celtic Supporters give donations either on game day or elsewhere let’s give it where they get majority and we’re not giving it to greedy individuals
This statement like the product they’re offering is nothing but hot air. In addition you only rent a virtual piece of Celtic Park for a limited period, you don’t buy it. It’s a complete swizz and the club should never have got involved in it.Tim
Lawwell’s revenge for his son’s treatment. Quite clever. Here is a pocketful of nothing and you can only own it for a limited time. Hilarious.
And if you don’t ‘hand it back’,
will they send the virtual bailiffs round? 🙂
This tie-in just doesn’t reflect well on our club, at all.
Any Celtic fans that buy into this need their heeds examined
I hope John gets a moral compass and principals for Christmas
It’s an embarrassing scheme and whoever effected the “partnership” should get their virtual baws kicked. There are hundreds of ways to support the club, the foundation and charities associated with Celtic, all of them more efficient, meaningful and legitimate than this pish. My nephew could concoct a certificate for about 29p. Anyone who falls for this scam needs support from an adult.
Oh Paddy my man!
“Virtual baws kicked”. That’s class mate! I laughed so much I almost choked on my virtual Cristal and caviar.
Already had my rant regarding this scam on a previous posting.
Sportli is pure and simply rinsing fans of money with the full backing of a shameful board .
This disgusting money grab should have never seen the light of day , whoever signed of on this should be sacked immediately, they obviously have no respect for their fanbase, in fact this is only to leech more money from loyal supporters.
This is something that Charles Green would have attempted to further line his pockets.
The origins of the clubs reputation and what it STOOD for is being dragged through the mud with this abomination.
It’s an insult to any celtic supporter.
But then again the board always highlights its world-class in everything they do. Well I’m disgusted by those hollow words.
There are no loyal Celtic supporters that I know anyway…
There again looks like plenty voted Butchers Apron loving Labour –
Which DOES actually make them Lo#yal !
This mob have some front,l have to give them that !
Instead of issuing an apology and refunding any monies received they double down on their stance by intimating it’s a great way of adding funds to a club with circa £100m in the bank and have great difficulty in parting with any of it unless it’s for increases in already outrageous salaries and annual bonuses while they consistently make profits each transfer window while starving the manager of the standard of players he requires for a decent assault on Europe as there would have been limited additions last summer if we hadn’t sold O’Riley.
They go on to gaslight potential customers and treat them like imbeciles by stating that you have to buy one of these plots to be able to form a view on the quality of their non product.
Whoever wrote these replies has a great future career in politics,should they decide to choose a more honest career path.
Conveniently,it wouldn’t matter which party they joined as they all (bar the VERY rare exception)have the same parasitic views as the trough feeders in the Celtic boardroom.
Furthermore, l think consumer law would be in anyone’s favour should they decide they want a refund.
The perfect gift for the fan who has everything………..Here’s a whole load of nothing instead !!
Grifters FC.