Liverpool FC suspends ticket sales following cyber attack

Liverpool Football Club has suspended ticket sales for members until further notice after falling victim to a sophisticated cyber-attack. The incident occurred on Wednesday, as tickets for home Premier League games in the first half of the season went on sale to members who had attended 13 or more league games at Anfield last season.

 

Within an hour of the sales opening, supporters experienced frustration as the process was halted due to what the club described as “a serious technical issue with the ticketing system.” An initial plan to resume sales later on Wednesday was abandoned, and the sale scheduled for today, intended for members successful in a ballot, was also postponed.

 

In an email to affected supporters, Liverpool explained the situation, revealing they were hit by a “sustained, sophisticated bot attack,” different from previous attacks they had encountered. An investigation is underway to determine the nature and origin of the attack, which utilized automated scripts to infiltrate the system. The exact motivation behind the attack—whether to cause disruption or fraudulently purchase tickets—remains unclear.

The ticketing system, managed by a third-party provider, will undergo additional security enhancements before Liverpool announces a new date for the sale to safely reopen in the coming weeks.

 

“This is hugely disappointing and frustrating as we have made several significant improvements to our supplier’s ticketing system to try and prevent this type of cybercrime,” stated Liverpool’s ticketing team in the email. They also apologized, adding, “We will continue to work with our fan groups to improve the selling processes and systems and consider all options that will eventually deliver the experience our fans deserve. We are sorry we have not managed to prevent unacceptable fraudulent activity which has impacted our genuine and valued supporters.”