Manchester City, Arsenal Fan Accounts Banned for Reselling Tickets

Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC have banned and cancelled fan accounts after learning they were reselling tickets.

Manchester City reportedly banned accounts of 165 supporters after an investigation that found away fans were in home arenas for games against Feyenoord, Manchester United, and Real Madrid. City told the City Matters Fan Network that they want all general admission seats in home areas to be occupied by Manchester City fans. The team noted they don’t knowingly sell tickets to away fans.

The accounts were banned for touting, while 354 accounts were suspended and 223 are now being “closely monitored.”

While fans are able to transfer tickets to other supporters if they cannot attend a match, Manchester City said that on average, 10% of tickets for a league home game are listed on the official ticket exchange.

On the other hand, Arsenal reported the organization cancelled 26m156 accounts this season that were found attempting to obtain tickets in an unauthorized way.

“We continue to ramp up our action against ticket touting to protect honest match-going supporters, and to do everything we can to ensure tickets are going into the hands of paying members,” Arsenal said in a statement.

Premier League ticket touting still remains prevalent; a security expert previously told the BBC that tickets sold on the black market within a single year brings-in £50 million.

Manchester City is set to take-on Brighton in the Premier League on March 15, while Arsenal will play against Chelsea on March 16.