Liverpool FC and Merseyside Police have jointly seized more than £1.2 million in assets and issued 432 lifetime bans as part of a comprehensive crackdown on ticket touting. This marks the first such collaboration between a Premier League club and its local police force targeting the illegal resale of tickets.
The initiative involved Liverpool’s investigations team working alongside Merseyside Police’s economic crime unit to analyze nearly 700,000 ticket registrations from the previous season. Their focus was on dismantling organized networks involved in the laundering of proceeds stemming from illicit ticket sales.
The joint operation successfully detained £1.2 million in assets linked to ticket touting, with several cases progressing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. To date, two individuals have been convicted, and another is scheduled to appear in court next month. The confiscated funds will be divided between Merseyside Police and the Home Office.
Over the course of the season, Liverpool FC blocked or canceled 67,663 suspected fake accounts, with an additional 121,379 accounts still under investigation. Alongside the 432 lifetime bans, the club imposed 115 indefinite suspensions, during which account holders typically must wait an average of three years before seeking reinstatement.
The majority of bans targeted unauthorized resale of season tickets, membership tickets, and hospitality tickets. Beyond ticket touting, disciplinary measures included bans related to three cases of racist and homophobic abuse, 13 incidents involving inappropriate touching or language, four assaults, and one instance of chanting viewed as offensive in relation to a tragedy.
Matchday operations conducted jointly by the club and police around Anfield led to a 33% increase in the identification or seizure of so-called burner phones, devices often used by individuals involved in illicit activities at events.
Detective Chief Inspector Nick Suffield of Merseyside Police’s economic crime team emphasized the ongoing commitment to protect genuine supporters from exploitation by touts and warned that concerted enforcement efforts would continue in future seasons.