A “black market” for Premier League tickets has been revealed following an investigation by the BBC. Companies based in various overseas locations, such as a town in Switzerland of just 4,000 people, are behind it, the broadcaster reported.
It is believed that they are using memberships and computer software to get their hands on tickets “at scale” via the online ticket platforms from clubs. The reselling of tickets is illegal in Britain and the Premier League lists the websites as the “unauthorised list.”
However, despite this, reporters from BBC Sport were still able to buy the tickets easily via the black market for four out of last weekend’s games, including the sell-out Manchester Derby. The reports bought a pair of tickets “in the City end” before the match. The practice was labelled as being “endemic” within English football.
They also bought tickets for Arsenal, Everton, and West Ham. For all four matches, the journalists were then able to use the black market tickets to gain entry to the games. But for others who have bought via such websites, they were not as lucky. Some fans told BBC Sport that they paid for tickets that did not grant them entry.
The cost for the tickets was two to four times the face value. Some were sent through British phone numbers on Whatsapp. “On one occasion,” according to BBC Sport, they came “with strict instructions not to speak to stewards.”
“The findings have prompted calls for clubs, the Premier League and government to do more to crackdown on the black market” it said. “There is concern that the scale of the market is making it harder for supporters to get tickets from official sources at face value, and also creating a potential safety threat to strict segregation rules.
Clubs have replied that they were working hard in the area, having already cancelled tens of thousands of memberships and tickets.
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