Liverpool take decisive action against ticket touting as Premier League champions shut down colossal number of accounts in major crackdown

Back in 2023, BBC Sport reported that Premier League ticket touting was worth more than £50 million ($66.7m) per year.

In January of that year, Brighton blocked approximately 150 Liverpool fans from gaining entry to the home section of the Amex for their FA Cup clash, with the Sussex side discovering that touts had set up multiple fake accounts to buy tickets from the club and then resell them for up to £250.

Arsenal also said they had blocked "100,000 suspected bots" from their ticketing sites. Fast forward to the present, and this is still a raging battle, but one that Liverpool are seemingly determined to win.

In addition to shutting down 145,000 ticket accounts, Liverpool also revealed that they issued a record 1,114 lifetime bans last season after discovering the mass manipulation of software used to buy tickets. This is in stark contrast to the 75 lifetime bans handed out across the 2023-24 season.

Almost 500 people were denied entry to Anfield for trying to enter the ground with a 'burner phone', and just under 400 targeted stops were carried out on matchdays. Investigators for the Reds also shut down 162 social media groups - with a combined membership of more than 'one million users' - involved in selling fake tickets that came to nothing or at 'extortionate rates'.

A statement on Liverpool's official website reads: "Liverpool FC continues to crack down on all forms of ticketing touting, both online and on the ground, to protect genuine fans from being ripped off or scammed. 

"Liverpool FC will continue to take robust action across this season, with increased resource targeting those involved in the proliferation of touting activity. Supporters should be aware that if they are in possession of a ticket that has not been forwarded in line with the club's terms and conditions, or are present inside Anfield without a valid ticket, they will be ejected by stewards or the police."

The club added that fans can report unofficial ticket sales or fraudulent tickets to them here.

Tom Greatrex, the head of the Football Supporters Association, told BBC Sport that he had doubts over the Premier League's commitment to tackling this issue. 

"Long-term supporters are finding it impossible to get tickets because of the way they are made available through secondary agencies," he said. "This is becoming endemic across the game."

BBC's report adds that just 12 arrests were recorded by the Home Office last season for ticket touting across English football's top six tiers.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said in a statement: "The unauthorised resale of football match tickets in England and Wales is illegal. Legislation is in place to minimise the risk of disorder, with football clubs responsible for implementing their own strategies to prevent ticket sales to unauthorised resellers. While the law applies only to domestic resales, it covers any element of an unauthorised sales chain that takes place within England and Wales."

Aside from ticket touting crackdowns, the reigning Premier League champions and early pacesetters are gearing up for a busy period over the next week or so as the second international break of the season nears.

Arne Slot's team travel to unbeaten Crystal Palace on Saturday, before heading off to Turkey to face Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. They then kick-off October with a trip to London to play Chelsea four days later. If they can win both of those league games, the Merseyside outfit may extend their lead at the top beyond the current gap of five points.