Ticket office staff accused as Anfield’s ticket crisis takes a darker turn
Liverpool’s long-running battle to fix the ticketing system has taken a disturbing twist after employees in the club’s ticket office were accused of helping touts profit from Anfield tickets.
As reported by The Liverpool Echo, the alleged scheme is said to have involved fake memberships, inflated resale prices and links between ticket office staff and touts operating on platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub.
Prosecutor Nicola Daley told the court that the operation “spanned several years” and was “a sophisticated ticket fraud” built to obtain as many Liverpool tickets as possible before reselling them at “significantly inflated prices”.
Inside the alleged Anfield ticket fraud
The court heard that two employees from the club’s ticket office were accused of creating over 1,000 fake memberships, many using identical passwords and addresses connected to hotels near Anfield.
Tickets priced at £9 for local fans were said to have been resold for up to £40 each, generating hundreds of thousands of pounds in profit.
Investigations also uncovered WhatsApp messages showing discussions about using dozens of membership cards and splitting profits from “big games”.
One defendant has already pleaded guilty, while six others continue to deny the charges. The trial is ongoing and expected to last several weeks at Liverpool Crown Court.
How this exposes deeper issues with Liverpool’s ticketing system
The allegations come just weeks after coverage of Liverpool’s fight against touts, where over 1,100 lifetime bans and 45,000 fake accounts were closed as part of the club’s internal crackdown.
Despite that progress, this case suggests the problem runs much deeper than external resellers.
It also follows Liverpool’s major ticketing move after backlash to the controversial fan survey, where members voiced concerns over fairness, loyalty and local access.
If proven, these latest allegations would show that the system meant to protect genuine supporters has been exploited from within, leaving fans once again questioning how such abuse could happen under our own roof.
For a club that prides itself on community and fairness, this story cuts to the heart of what Liverpool stands for and why reforming how we access Anfield has never been more urgent.
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