Fifa fears another 2010 World Cup fiasco as travel agents sell counterfeit 2014 World Cup tickets

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ANI London
Last Updated : Feb 24 2014 | 6:55 PM IST

Fifa enforcement officers fear a repeat of 2010 World Cup in South Africa counterfeit ticket fiasco, as fans may fall victim to multi-million-pound black market fraud

In a case, which is just an example of the multi-million-pound fraud, agents working on behalf of Wembley-based Infinity Tours were found circulating brochures stating they could "supply match tickets" for all World Cup games.

It is a criminal offence to resell World Cup tickets and any employer doing the same would be fined and jailed, the report said.

According to the Daily Star, a LinkedIn post on Infinity Tours stated that fans could buy World Cup packages ranging starting at 2499 pounds including flights, accommodation, transfers and match tickets.

Managing director for Infinity Tours Manan Shah blamed self employed agents for the post and said that the travel agency did not sell match tickets for the World Cup.

Shah also said that the agent had offered an unauthorized ticket with the package to increase commissions and the company has terminated all dealings with the particular agent.

Another firm operating a website named 2014brazilworldcuptickets .com is also under probation for offering tickets to matches including England versus Italy and Uruguay priced at 1600 dollars or roughly 960 pounds, the report added.

Imran Patel at Match Services, Fifa's ticket enforcement arm reportedly said that there was no blatant selling going on at Infinity Tours but their brouchure mentions a full list of match tickets and there was evidence of a company engaging in criminal offenses.

Patel also added that the website 2014brazilworldcuptickets .com provided a platform for selling World Cup tickets, regardless of the laws in UK

The Football Supporters Federation added that they should provide fans directly with the tickets instead of giving them to third parties, which are more interested in turning a profit.

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First Published: Feb 24 2014 | 6:43 PM IST

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