A six-year-old Manchester United fan, who has been a mascot, has had his season ticket restricted as part of the club's crackdown on ticket touting. The club cited 'centrally controlled' account activity, but the family claims they were merely helping relatives manage tickets.
The case highlights the challenges and potential collateral damage of broad anti-touting measures, impacting even young, dedicated fans and raising questions about the fairness and automation of such enforcement processes.
A six-year-old Manchester United fan named Ruairi has had his season ticket restricted as part of the club's crackdown on ticket touting. His mother, Katie, stated that the restriction, which prevents Ruairi from applying for away game tickets, would be devastating for her son, who has held a season ticket since birth and has previously been a club mascot.
Katie explained that she managed ticket applications for a group of 19 relatives and friends, and that family members had assisted each other with managing their accounts using shared devices and internet connections, particularly those less confident with online systems. She asserted that no tickets were sold for profit, advertised to unauthorised third parties, or managed using automated software.
In an email seen by the BBC, Manchester United stated that the repeated access to Ruairi's account, alongside a high number of other ticketing accounts, indicated they had been centrally controlled. The club concluded that Ruairi's account and associated tickets had been managed outside its authorised processes, citing the 'scale, frequency and pattern' of the wider activity. However, the email did not explicitly accuse the family of reselling tickets or using bots.
Katie's appeal was denied by the club on July 21, approximately four hours after she submitted her explanation. She believes the rejection was automated and has lodged a further appeal with the club's appeals panel. Manchester United declined to comment on Ruairi's specific case but noted that similar anti-touting efforts last season recovered over 14,000 tickets worth more than £1 million.