▲ Old Trafford, Manchester United's home stadium
English professional football club Manchester United is facing a backlash after suspending the accounts of passionate fans who have held season tickets for decades during a digital surveillance crackdown aimed at tackling ticket touts.
According to a report by the UK's BBC today (July 22, KST), a massive wave of season ticket holders' accounts have been suspended ahead of the new season.
Manchester United recently initiated automated software-based detection of season ticket accounts exhibiting abnormal patterns, concluding that illegal ticket trading has become severe over past years.
As a result, thousands of season ticket accounts have been restricted, making it impossible for holders to purchase or transfer tickets.
Affected users must go through an appeals process before the Premier League (EPL) season opens on August 22, and depending on the outcome, their season tickets could be canceled entirely.
The issue lies in the criteria Manchester United uses to determine abnormal patterns.
The EPL abolished paper tickets several years ago and transitioned to a digital ticketing system using smartphone apps.
Manchester United restricts ticket transfers exclusively to approved family members or acquaintances. However, it appears that handing tickets over to acquaintances at face value when unable to attend, or children logging into their parents' accounts instead, were also classified and caught as abnormal patterns.
Fans who actually had their accounts suspended claim that a large number of the club's loyal supporters were included in the account restrictions.
Andy, a season ticket holder of over 35 years, told the BBC, "Ever since digital tickets were introduced, I handled everything on behalf of my father who struggles with online processing, and that became the problem. Going to matches with my elderly father, who has held season tickets since the Second Division days in 1974, is the bond that connects us."
A fan serving as the secretary of a Manchester United supporters club in Northern Ireland also said, "Every single member who held a season ticket received an account restriction email. Whenever members couldn't make a match, they passed tickets on to other members at exact face value, but the club refuses to understand that."
In a message sent to the fan club, Manchester United maintained, "We focused on cases where multiple accounts were centrally controlled by a single individual or showed patterns utilizing automated software. The vast majority of those caught were correctly classified."
However, fans are pushing back, complaining that they were demanded to prove their own innocence without even being notified of what specifically triggered the issue.
The Manchester United Supporters' Trust expressed concern, stating, "Account suspension and season ticket cancellation notices have been sent to thousands of people, and we have received requests for help from hundreds. The club's approach could lead to severe unintended consequences."
During last season, the club also canceled 22,000 tickets for the opening five matches due to reasons related to ticket touting.
The club, estimating that 10 to 15 percent of season tickets are in the hands of touts, views this as just the tip of the iceberg.
Manchester United has 46,800 season ticket holders.
The BBC analyzed, "While illegally reselling match tickets at inflated prices is a rampant problem in the EPL, fans believe that wealthy clubs want fewer season ticket holders because selling seats individually generates more revenue per ticket."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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