Man Utd ban 685 accounts in major ticket-touting crackdown ahead of derby

Manchester United have banned 685 ticketing accounts as part of a major crackdown on ticket touting and misuse ahead of Sunday’s derby against Manchester City. According to Reuters, as reported by Vanguard News, the club launched an investigation into 1,617 accounts after detecting unusual activity during the summer.

United said 468 cases were closed after supporters provided satisfactory explanations, while 226 received final warnings. A further 499 season-ticket bans were upheld following appeals, with another 113 imposed after supporters failed to respond to information requests. The club said it had uncovered organised networks controlling and distributing tickets across hundreds of accounts. However, fan group The 1958 has criticised the crackdown and plans to protest before the derby.