Liverpool Football Club has delivered a crushing blow to ticket touts, issuing over 400 lifetime bans as part of its £1.2m crackdown on organised groups selling match tickets illegally. A joint operation with Merseyside Police has yielded significant results, including the seizure of more than £1.2 million in assets.
The club's stringent response involves a total of 432 individuals receiving lifetime bans from attending Liverpool matches, with an additional 115 indefinite suspensions also put in place. This move underscores the club's commitment to tackling illicit ticket sales, which can leave genuine supporters financially out of pocket and unable to access games.
Merseyside Police Detective Chief Inspector Nick Suffield praised the partnership, calling it a "fantastic example" of collaboration aimed at safeguarding genuine fans from touts. He highlighted the police's determination to combat ticket laundering and its financial trails, which often leave fans exploited when trying to purchase tickets for matches.
This crackdown builds on previous efforts by Liverpool FC. Last year, the club reported shutting down 145,000 ticket accounts over a two-year period as part of its ongoing fight against touting. For the 2025-26 season alone, nearly 700,000 ticket registrations were meticulously analysed, leading to the blocking or cancellation of 67,663 suspected fake accounts. A further 121,379 accounts are currently under investigation, illustrating the scale of the problem.
The club has also enhanced its matchday presence and online monitoring. During the 2025-26 season, 3,847 tickets were cancelled due to suspicious purchase activity and subsequently re-released for general admission, making more tickets available to legitimate fans. At Anfield, an average of 300 individuals per home game were prevented from accessing turnstiles due to suspicious account activity; these measures have been extended to away games in the Premier League and European competitions.