Manchester City matches this season have been marred by Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid fans accessing home sections of the Etihad Stadium.
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Fans watch as the bus with players arrives for the Champions League match between Man City and Real Madrid.
Hundreds of Real Madrid fans were seen in home sections of the Etihad Stadium when they played against Man City.
(Image: AP)
Manchester City have taken action against supporters found to have resold or touted home tickets for games at the Etihad Stadium this season.
City have taken that step after multiple instances at recent home games of away fans being in home sections of the stadium. Hundreds of Real Madrid fans managed to do so, despite the Spanish club selling just 40 per cent of their 3,000 allocation for their Champions League showdown.
Reports of similar incidents also emerged after matches against Feyenoord, Liverpool, neighbours Manchester United and Plymouth Argyle across recent months. Details about the club's actions following those high-profile instances have now belatedly become public.
Bans and suspensions
Newly published minutes from a meeting with the official fan engagement group City Matters on tickets show the extent of the action. Ticket touting has seen 354 accounts suspended this season, with almost half - 154 - resulting from the Real Madrid match when The Manchester Evening News saw several examples of Real Madrid supporters celebrating in home areas at the end of the game.
Bans from purchasing tickets are also in place on 165 accounts - with the club monitoring a further 223. They're also said to have issued "cease and desist" letters to fraudulent sites claiming to sell legitimate tickets.
Real Madrid chaos explained
The visitors reputedly restricted away tickets to official members of the Spanish club, meaning large numbers of non-members bought tickets in the home areas of the stadium. City told City Matters that the club aims to deny entry to any away fan trying to gain entry to the stadium.
Failing that, supporters inside the ground are told to leave before being ejected for safety reasons.
However, City claim they did not have the authority to move away fans into their section as UEFA rules stipulate that the away club are responsible for selling tickets and the behaviour of their visiting fans.
Arsenal example
Earlier this week, Arsenal explained that they cancelled over 25,000 accounts due to touting and bot activity this season. "Suspicious activity" is also said to have stopped almost 8,000 from entering their ballot system for tickets, which is in place to help them identify illegal ticket touting and bot activity.
"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 via a statement. They have an anti-touting operation - involving specialist third-party operatives - and are also said to have regular seat checks and home and away ticket collections for their fixtures.