Manchester United blocked the sale of 4,500 tickets for last month's Premier League home game with Chelsea. United said action was taken after determining the tickets were being purchased by account holders with the use of automated systems that prevent genuine supporters getting to them. In the minutes of their latest Fans' Forum meeting, held on 8 October, United stressed their determination to ensure "fair access to tickets" was a top priority.
Manchester United blocked the sale of 4,500 tickets for last month's Premier League home game with Chelsea.
United said action was taken after determining the tickets were being purchased by account holders with the use of automated systems that prevent genuine supporters getting to them.
In addition to the 4,500, the club said another 2,000 were "successfully reclaimed" and put on resale.
In the minutes of their latest Fans' Forum meeting, held on 8 October, United stressed their determination to ensure "fair access to tickets" was a top priority.
"Long before recent media coverage, we started strengthening our systems to identify and block accounts using automated software ("bots")," the minutes read.
"Where we cancel tickets, we notify the supporter and take a fair, evidence-based approach to any appeals."
The use of bots to buy tickets has become a growing concern within the Premier League, as highlighted by a BBC Sport investigation on the matter.
The report said computer programmes automate the official ticket-buying process and allow touts to buy multiple tickets simultaneously.
Posing as a potential customer, we spoke to one company selling such technology.
They offered us software designed to target the ticket platforms of five Premier League clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham.
The bots were priced at $2,500 (£1,870) per club, or $9,900 (£7,400) for a package deal.
Category: General Sports
