Liverpool have canceled the Champions League final tickets of 13 of their supporters after it was discovered that they had tried to sell their seats online.
The club has revealed that some of its fans have been busted for fake tickets for the clash against Real Madrid in Paris on Saturday and has warned those trying to resell their seats to others online, likely at a large markup on the face price, they could face lifetime bans.
Liverpool and Real Madrid fans are vying for last-minute seats to the match at the Stade de France, for which they only received a measly allocation of 19,618 tickets in a venue that has a capacity of more than 81,000.
The lack of tickets available via official routes has prompted fans to search for seats on resale websites where prices start at around £1,700.
One site, livefootballtickets.com, reportedly has 2,786 tickets available for the final, with the most expensive priced at £5,000.
Most of the cheapest seats on livefootballtickets.com are for Real Madrid fans, with the lowest price for a ticket at the designated Liverpool end of the stadium costing £2,499.
“Sadly, there has been an increase in the number of fans who have been scammed, particularly online, with bogus ticket offers,” Liverpool said in a statement.
‘If any supporter is offered a ticket online, they must report it to LFC and Action Fraud.
‘Liverpool FC will not sit idly by watching people try to sell tickets they have been lucky enough to access through the ballot.
All reports of ticket sales or online ticket fraud will be investigated in accordance with the LFC sanctions process. If a fan is found to have offered a ticket for sale online, this could result in a lifetime ban for that person.”
Liverpool said it has identified more than 50 accounts that are “actively involved in selling or offering to sell” tickets to the final and called on social media companies to shut them down.
UEFA warned earlier this month that tickets purchased on the secondary market may not allow them access to the stadium.
Supporters of both Liverpool and Real were able to obtain tickets through access to their own club ticket and the official UEFA ticket ticket.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin defended his ticketing system and allocation after Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned why almost half of the 75,000 tickets for the match against Real Madrid in Paris are given to sponsors and officials.
