Liverpool targets tout profits in £1.2m police crackdown

Liverpool and Merseyside Police have detained more than £1.2m in assets linked to organised ticket touts, expanding their enforcement strategy from account sanctions to the proceeds generated by illicit sales.The police operation is focused on suspected money laundering and is being led by Merseyside Police’s economic crime team alongside Liverpool’s investigations unit.Three cases connected to Liverpool ticket touting have been pursued during the past 12 months. Two have resulted in convictions, with another case scheduled to appear before the courts next month.The detained assets will be divided between Merseyside Police and the Home Office under proceeds of crime arrangements. Several investigations remain active.Liverpool’s approach combines financial enforcement with account monitoring, matchday checks and restrictions on supporters found selling tickets outside authorised channels.The club analysed almost 700,000 ticket registrations during the 2025-26 season. It blocked or cancelled 67,663 accounts suspected of being fake, while a further 121,379 remain under investigation.Liverpool also issued 432 lifetime bans during the campaign, including sanctions against 383 All Red members, 41 season ticket holders and eight seasonal hospitality members.Another 115 accounts received indefinite suspensions, including 91 All Red members and 24 season ticket holders.Lifetime bans are permanent, while indefinite suspensions generally carry a minimum period of three years before an account holder can apply for reinstatement.The majority of sanctions related to the unauthorised resale of season tickets, membership tickets or hospitality inventory in breach of Liverpool’s terms and conditions.Liverpool have increased their matchday investigation resources as demand for access to Anfield continues to exceed supply.The number of burner phones identified and either denied entry or seized rose by 33% last season. Such devices can be used to distribute digital tickets repeatedly or transfer access outside the club’s official system.Targeted stops involving accounts with suspicious activity increased from 381 in 2024-25 to 3,608 last season, a rise of 847%.Checks were conducted at Anfield, averaging about 300 per home match, as well as at Liverpool’s Premier League away fixtures and European games.A further 3,847 tickets linked to suspicious purchasing activity were cancelled and returned to general admission sale.The action allowed Liverpool to redirect inventory towards genuine supporters while reducing the potential supply available to unauthorised resale platforms.The club estimates that more than nine out of 10 tickets advertised through unofficial websites either do not exist or have been sold multiple times.Ticket touting presents a commercial and reputational risk for leading clubs, with fraudulent sales damaging supporter trust while diverting demand and revenue away from official platforms.Liverpool have also introduced ticketing changes for the 2026-27 season following a wider review and plan to allocate additional resources to enforcement.Supporters using tickets distributed outside Liverpool’s authorised forwarding process risk being refused entry, ejected or losing their season ticket or membership access.The continuing police cases will test Liverpool’s ability to move beyond internal sanctions and use financial crime legislation to disrupt the organised businesses operating around high-demand matches.