Liverpool Football Club and Merseyside Police have seized more than £1.2 million in assets and issued 432 lifetime bans as part of a joint clampdown on ticket touting. This marked the first operation of its kind between a Premier League club and their local police authority.
Investigation Details
The club's investigations team worked with the police economic crime team to analyze almost 700,000 ticket registrations from last season. The focus was on the laundering of criminal proceeds from illicit ticket sales. The joint investigation led to the detention of £1.2 million in assets related to organized ticket touts under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Two people have been convicted, and another is due in court next month. The seized assets will be split between Merseyside Police and the Home Office.
Account Suspensions and Bans
Liverpool blocked or cancelled 67,663 suspected fake accounts last season, with a further 121,379 accounts still under investigation. In addition to the 432 lifetime bans, the club issued 115 indefinite suspensions, where the account holder faces an average three-year wait before applying for reinstatement. Most bans were for unauthorized selling of season tickets, membership tickets, or hospitality tickets. Lifetime bans and suspensions were also imposed in three cases of racist and homophobic abuse, 13 instances of inappropriate touching or language, four for assault, and one for tragedy chanting.
Match Day Enforcement
Investigations by the club and police outside Anfield on match days last season resulted in a 33% increase in the number of burner phones either identified or seized. Detective Chief Inspector Nick Suffield, from Merseyside Police’s economic crime team, said: “We will always take action to protect genuine fans who fall victim to touts when all they are trying to do is simply purchase tickets to support their team. Our activities to target touts operating both online and on match days will continue and we work closely with supporters and clubs to keep identifying ticket touts and doing all we can to prevent them taking advantage of supporters and spoiling people’s experience of football and the city.”
Advice to Supporters
Suffield added: “Our advice to football supporters is clear: don’t buy from ticket touts. You will be taking a huge risk with a lot of money and may ultimately be refused entry to the match with no way of getting your money back.” The operation underscores the club and police commitment to protecting genuine fans from exploitation.
