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Champions League 'touts' arrested
2011-05-29 14:24:09
29 May 2011 Last updated at 12:00 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Champions League final: 'Ticket touts' arrested Manchester United were outclassed at Wembley Continue reading the main story Related Stories United fans see team outclassed Barcelona 3-1 Man Utd Ferguson admits Man Utd 'never really controlled Messi"
Police have arrested nine men accused of ticket touting at the Champions League final at Wembley.
The Metropolitan Police said the men were accused of reselling tickets for the game, which they said constituted "illegal business".
Sought-after tickets to Saturday night's final were on offer for thousands of pounds.
The alleged ticket touts hailed from the UK, Germany, Romania and Italy. Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1.
Det Ch Insp Nick Downing, from the Met, said: "Ticket touting is an illegal business run by people to gain financially through the exploitation of clubs and their fans.
"Genuine fans need to be aware they are not only fuelling criminal activity when they buy from a tout, but also putting themselves at risk as they could find themselves amongst opposing supporters.
"You run the risk of paying over the odds for a non-existent ticket, ending up disappointed by not getting to see the game that you paid for, and having your personal and credit card details stolen."
A total of 44 people were arrested for a range of offences during the police operation surrounding the game.