Premier League ticket black market exposed

A black market selling thousands of Premier League tickets has been revealed by a BBC investigation.

Companies based at a number of overseas locations, including in a Swiss town with a population of 4,000, are behind it.

They are thought to be using memberships and computer software to obtain tickets at scale through clubs' online ticket platforms.

The resale of tickets is illegal in the UK, and the Premier League names the websites on an "unauthorised list"., external

Despite this, BBC Sport was able to buy tickets easily through the black market for four of last weekend's games. The practice has been described as "endemic" in English football.

Sunday's Manchester derby was sold out weeks ago, but we bought a pair of tickets in the City end days before the match.

We also made purchases for fixtures at Arsenal, Everton and West Ham.