Legal & transparency
Legal Notice &
AI Transparency
Last updated: August 2026
This page explains the editorial nature of Legends Database, its use of synthetic imagery and the status of its interactive features.
Clear disclosure: all player, coach and personality portraits displayed on this website are synthetic artistic interpretations generated by artificial intelligence. They are not photographs.
Nature and Purpose of This Website
Legends Database (legendsdatabase.com) is an independent, non-commercial editorial project dedicated to the history of football. It operates as a digital reference work — comparable in purpose to an encyclopedia, almanac, or historical archive — providing curated biographical information, statistical records, editorial analysis, and opinion-based evaluations of historical football figures, teams, and competitions.
This website:
- generates no revenue of any kind: it displays no advertising, sells no products or services, offers no subscriptions or paid features, and solicits no donations;
- is operated by a private individual for informational, educational, cultural, and documentary purposes;
- is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or connected to any football player, coach, club, national federation, league, governing body (including FIFA, UEFA, or any national association), or any of their agents, estates, or licensees.
The non-commercial, editorial, and historical-documentary character of this website is central to its legal posture and is asserted under the freedom-of-expression and freedom-of-information guarantees recognized by Article 21 of the Italian Constitution, Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
AI-Generated Imagery — Transparency Statement
All player, coach, and personality portraits displayed on this website are synthetic artistic interpretations created with generative artificial intelligence. They are not documentary photographs or authentic records of real events.
Specifically:
- The portraits are presented as artistic illustrations and do not purport to reproduce an authentic photograph, document a real event, or depict real conduct.
- They use a deliberately stylized visual treatment and are generally displayed at small dimensions. Contextual AI disclosures, together with this notice and the website footer, identify their synthetic origin.
- The images are selected and published within a human-curated editorial project. They are not intended to deceive viewers, attribute false conduct, or cause harm to any person depicted.
This disclosure is provided in accordance with the transparency principles and, where applicable, the obligations established by:
- Articles 50(4) and 50(5) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU Artificial Intelligence Act). These provisions require clear, distinguishable, and accessible disclosure, no later than the first exposure, when relevant AI-generated or manipulated content is presented. For evidently artistic or creative works, disclosure may be made in an appropriate manner that does not hamper their display or enjoyment.
- The European Commission's Guidelines on the transparency obligations under Article 50 and its voluntary Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content. The website uses contextual disclosures intended to make the artificial origin of the portraits apparent when users encounter them, with this page providing the complete explanation.
- Italian Law No. 132 of 23 September 2025, including the safeguards reflected in Article 612-quater of the Italian Criminal Code concerning the harmful distribution of deceptively falsified or altered content. Legends Database openly declares the artificial nature of its portraits and does not publish them with the purpose of misleading viewers or causing unjust harm.
This transparency statement is maintained as a precautionary and good-faith measure. It does not assert that every stylized portrait necessarily meets the legal definition of a “deep fake” under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.
Use of Names and Likenesses — Editorial and Informational Use
The names of football players, coaches, and other historical figures appear on this website solely for purposes of identification, historical documentation, commentary, criticism, and editorial analysis. Such use constitutes:
- nominative / referential use: names are used descriptively to identify the historical subjects of encyclopedic entries, in the same manner as any reference work, sports almanac, history book, or newspaper archive;
- non-commercial editorial use: no name, image, or likeness is used to advertise, promote, endorse, or sell any product or service, and no person's identity is exploited for commercial gain.
The website is designed and operated as an editorial and informational publication, not as a commercial endorsement. Nothing on this website states or implies that any individual sponsors, endorses, or is associated with Legends Database. This distinction is relevant to right-of-publicity rules and to false-endorsement principles such as Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)).
Under Italian law, Articles 96 and 97 of Law No. 633/1941 and Article 10 of the Civil Code provide a framework for the publication of material concerning public figures and matters of public interest, subject to the protection of honour, reputation, and dignity. Legends Database is committed to observing those safeguards. Editorial, newsworthiness, and public-interest protections may also apply under the laws of other jurisdictions.
Where personal data of public figures is processed (limited to publicly available career and biographical information), such processing is carried out under Article 6(1)(f) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) — legitimate interest in historical documentation and freedom of expression — in conjunction with the journalistic and academic/artistic expression framework of Article 85 GDPR.
Ratings, Rankings, and Editorial Evaluations
All numerical ratings, overall scores, rankings, attribute assessments, personality descriptions, and comparative evaluations published on this website are subjective editorial opinions of the website's curator, based on historical research and analysis. They do not purport to be objective facts, official assessments, or evaluations endorsed by any person depicted or by any football organization. The curator reviews the material published on the website and assumes editorial responsibility for it.
Trademarks and Third-Party Rights
All product names, club names, competition names, logos, and brands referenced on this website are the property of their respective owners. Any reference to them is made solely for identification and descriptive purposes (nominative fair use) and does not imply affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement. This website does not reproduce official club crests, competition logos, kit designs, or other protected visual trademarks.
Historical statistics and factual data (dates, match results, appearance and goal counts) are facts in the public domain and are not subject to copyright.
Interactive and Simulation Features
Match simulations, tournaments, and other interactive features on this website are works of fiction and entertainment. Simulated results, commentary, and narratives are procedurally generated hypotheticals and are presented as such; they do not represent real events, real statements, or real conduct by any person, living or deceased. These features do not make automated decisions affecting users' legal rights, access to services, employment, credit, or other similarly significant interests.
Good Faith, Notice, and Takedown
This website is operated in good faith with respect for the dignity, honour, and reputation of every individual referenced. Should any person (or their authorized representative, heir, or estate) believe that any content on this website infringes their rights — including rights of image, publicity, privacy, or intellectual property — they are invited to submit a notice to:
Notices should identify the specific content concerned, the right allegedly infringed, and the requester's relationship to the person or work in question. Legitimate requests will be reviewed promptly, and content will be modified or removed where appropriate. This procedure is offered voluntarily and operates in the spirit of notice-and-action frameworks such as Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act) and 17 U.S.C. § 512 (DMCA).
No Warranty; Limitation of Liability
Content on this website is provided "as is" for general informational and entertainment purposes. While curated with care, no warranty is given as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any information. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the operator of this website shall not be liable for any damages arising from the use of, or reliance upon, the content published here.
Governing Framework
This website is operated from Italy. Without prejudice to mandatory provisions of applicable law, this notice and any dispute relating to the website are governed by Italian law and the applicable law of the European Union, including Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), and Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (DSA).