This coming season our actions to prevent ticket fraud will ramp up. We have invested in club resources, established a dedicated ticket audit team to monitor seat use at games and we are introducing Digital Ticketing this season, which will provide better security and visibility of ticket authenticity.

Last season, our efforts resulted in over 1,393 ejections from the stadium for possession of a touted ticket, 2,740 membership accounts linked with touted tickets were cancelled and four arrests were made. Following the transition to our new ticketing platform, the system identified and blocked over 350,000 attempted purchases from bots during our first Premier League on sale period for the new season.

As a club we continue working hard to identify and punish the use of touted tickets and to put real tickets in the hands of real fans. However, this is a systemic problem that goes beyond one football club. Ticket touts are organised criminal operations that bulk buy and illegally sell tickets at inflated prices or transfer tickets outside of official channels.

This is a shared challenge and Chelsea FC are working with our ticketing and technology partners and the local police to clamp down on ticket touting. We have also supported the Home Office on their recent Stop! Think Fraud campaign, that aims to help raise awareness of ticket fraud.

No single club can tackle this problem alone. Over the coming months we want to work more closely with the Premier League and other stakeholders to ensure that we are sharing intelligence and going even further where possible to tackle the touts.

There is a lot of work to be done, but as a club we are committed to keep doing everything in our power to clamp down on this illegal activity day in day out, and to continue collaborating with the relevant authorities.

How to spot a touted ticket

Ahead of the first match of the season, please make sure you read and follow the advice below before purchasing a Chelsea FC ticket:

Authorised channels for Chelsea FC ticket purchase

The only legitimate place to buy tickets is through the Chelsea FC website.

Club Chelsea tickets and packages can be purchased through the Chelsea FC website or – if you are based outside of the UK - through our official Travel Partners Travel Connection or Champions Travel.

If you purchase tickets from any other website, you are purchasing tickets illegally and should expect to be refused entry.

Unauthorised channels for Chelsea FC ticket purchases

Ticket touts use secondary reseller websites and social media to sell illegal tickets.

Do not buy tickets from any social media account advertising match tickets.

Do not buy tickets from secondary ticket selling websites.

As per The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, if you purchase Chelsea FC tickets via these means, you will be purchasing tickets illegally and will be refused entry to the stadium.

If members or season ticket holders are found to be illegally selling on their tickets they will face severe sanctions, including the blocking of their account and bans from the stadium.