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Premier League club Manchester United has issued an update as it continues to investigate ticket touting and other deceptive practices.
During the investigation over the last couple of months – which aims to crack down on deceptive ticketing practices – fans have previously voiced their displeasure over having their accounts temporarily suspended, and complained the club was vague in its communications over the tackling of touts.
United conceded that the investigation had caused “significant concern and distress for some supporters” but that there was “no doubt” the process had uncovered significant and organised touting. The club provided an example where 1,088 accounts had been accessed on a single device.
The club added that it recognised that some supporters who saw their actions as “legitimate and have not made any financial gain from tickets may have felt that they were being treated harshly”.
“We understand deeply the relationship between a supporter and their season ticket and that removing that bond should be reserved for serious breaches. In this process, we intend to reserve the most severe sanctions for cases where the evidence indicates organised touting, systematic misuse or activity for financial gain,” the update continued.
Investigation into touting and other forms of ticketing abuse
The process was introduced to identify and prevent organised ticket touting and abuse of the ticketing system, the club said. It is not investigating the sharing of logins/passwords (though this is inadvisable and the unauthorised transfer of a ticket does breach the terms and conditions) but activities indicative of organised touting.
Supporters that received communications from the club were contacted because account activity had been identified which required further investigation and explanation. Fans are encouraged to respond, which is then reviewed individually by the ticketing team before any action is taken.
It was also noted that the club was not expecting to come across so many instances where supporters shared login details in circumstances they regarded as legitimate.
The review was undertaken as the demand for Manchester United tickets is higher than ever, with the club wanting to put tickets in the hands of real fans.
United said it was not only looking into those selling tickets above face value for financial gain, but was also looking to crack down on organised networks that control large volumes of tickets; unauthorised providers making access to tickets conditional on the purchase of travel or other services; using multiple accounts to gain an unfair advantage when applying for high-demand games; transferring tickets outside approved process; and using automated systems or bots to obtain tickets.
The process
To assist the review, United commissioned an independent, specialist company to look into account activity on its ticketing platform between March and June this year. The review examined a variety of indicators, with a principal focus being on the number of individual Manchester United ticketing accounts being accessed from the same physical device.
This differs from multiple supporters using the same household internet connection, referring specifically to the same mobile phone, tablet or computer being used to access numerous separate ticketing accounts.
The threshold used at this stage was seven or more accounts being accessed from a single device within the review period – the average number used by ticket holders is 1.2. Cases that were flagged did not result in automatic sanctions, but identified accounts requiring further investigation with an opportunity for the account holder to explain.
The club’s learnings so far
United said that the clearest finding revolved around supporters sharing their login details to help family, friends and fellow supporters manage applications and tickets.
However, the club has reiterated that this can create a number of risks including removing control from the account holder, compromising account and data security, and bypassing safeguards built into approved ticketing processes, and can make it difficult for the club to understand who is controlling accounts and ultimately using tickets.
The review will continue, and the club said it would publish further information, including supporting data where appropriate, once completed.
United will also consult with the Fans’ Advisory Board, Fans’ Forum representatives, MUST and other supporter organisations to improve guidance for supporters and to ensure lessons are learned from this process.