Source:REUTERS/Phil Noble
[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, Liverpool Football Club has officially announced it is continuing a strong crackdown on ticket touts. Last season, the club issued a record 1,114 lifetime bans, far exceeding the 75 from the previous season, with nearly half related to the discovery of large-scale software use for ticket purchasing. Specific measures taken by Liverpool include shutting down 45,000 fake ticket-purchasing accounts (with another 10,000 under investigation) and canceling 162 touting social media groups with a total membership exceeding one million. Meanwhile, on Premier League matchdays, nearly 500 people were denied entry for using “burner phones,” and nearly 400 interceptions were carried out against suspicious accounts. Thanks to the introduction of new technologies like multi-factor verification, the number of fake accounts has significantly decreased compared to nearly 100,000 in the previous season. Furthermore, Liverpool FC has sternly warned fans that over 90% of tickets on unofficial websites are either fake or resold by touts. Fans are urged to purchase tickets only through official channels to avoid the risk of ejection and financial loss.