For many football fans, following a Premier League team is a lifelong routine. Season ticket holders attend home games weekly, while others travel nationwide to support their club.
But for some, watching a match in England’s top flight is a once-in-a-lifetime dream. That dream often comes with a high price — and for some, heartbreak.
Last weekend, James, a Tottenham supporter from South Korea, travelled 5,500 miles to Brighton for his first-ever Spurs match. He paid £900 for a ticket on an unauthorised resale site, only to be turned away at the turnstile.
The ticket had already been deactivated, leaving him upset and stranded outside the Amex Stadium. “I’m disappointed, I didn’t understand this rule,” he said, holding out little hope beyond requesting a refund.
James was not alone. More than 100 fans were caught out during Brighton’s clash with Tottenham. The club later confirmed that 285 resale tickets were blocked, with 12 season ticket holders identified as touts and banned.
Reselling football tickets without authorisation is against UK law, yet the black market thrives through overseas websites. A BBC investigation revealed that touts use bots and fake identities to hoard tickets, later selling them for inflated sums.
“This is becoming endemic across the game,” said Tom Greatrex, chair of the Football Supporters’ Association. “Long-term supporters are finding it impossible to get tickets because of secondary agencies.”
At Brighton, staff are on the frontline of this battle. Newly appointed ticket investigation officer Joseph Sells led operations during the Tottenham fixture. “We’ve found hundreds today. At black market rates, we’ve stopped about £100,000 going to touts,” he said.
Clubs are investing in technology to detect suspicious transactions. Brighton’s bespoke system analyses purchases, scanning for irregularities like unusual payment sources or bulk buying attempts under fake names such as “Tony Montana.”
The Premier League is also pushing forward with encrypted barcodes to make resale fraud harder. Still, the scale of the issue remains significant, with fans paying thousands for invalid tickets.
One family recently spent £6,000 on six tickets to see Manchester City, only to be refused entry. Clubs now issue letters to victims, advising them to reclaim money via their card issuer as fraud victims.
For unlucky supporters like James, the dream of watching a Premier League game can turn into a nightmare. As clubs battle touts, fans are urged to buy tickets directly from official channels to avoid being scammed.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
