UK police crack down on fake football kit sellers

As the new Premier League nears kick-off in the UK, police have mounted a campaign against criminals counterfeiting football shirts and kits.

In a series of raids, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police – along with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), Border Force, Trading Standards, and industry partners – seized a total of 63,731 fake items since the start of the year with an estimated retail value of £5.1m ($6.8m).

Five people have been arrested on suspicion of selling fake football shirts as a result of the operations. The activity took place following intelligence received from the IPO concerning the sale of suspect shirts.

"While buying a fake football shirt may seem like a bargain, purchasing a counterfeit can fund criminal activity such as money laundering, forced labour and drug operation," said PIPCU in a statement.

"The nature of conducting illegal activity means that the criminals involved in manufacturing counterfeit goods are unlikely to follow health and safety regulations, both in terms of the workers who make counterfeit goods and the products themselves."

The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice estimates that counterfeiting is now the second largest source of criminal income worldwide.

Fake products may not last through many wears, because they are of poorer quality than genuine items, and can be flammable or contain harmful chemicals.

Officers from PIPCU arrested the three individuals for offences relating to the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods during operations in Bolton, Nottingham, Shrewsbury, Burton-on-Trent and Leek in June and July 2025.

A total of 329 fake football kits and 184 pairs of counterfeit football socks were seized from addresses in Shrewsbury, Burton-on-Trent and Leek, with 2,300 fake shirts intercepted at addresses in Leeds and Bradford and 2,793 items were seized by Border Force agents at East Midlands Airport during the UEFA Women's Euros.

Two men in Bolton and Nottinghamshire have since received conditional cautions, which order them to stop selling counterfeit goods and take down their online sales platforms. The remainder of those arrested have been released under investigation, pending further enquiries.

Two sportswear brands have seized nearly 7,000 counterfeit items – including fake football shirts, kits and jerseys – across the UK and Ireland since January, while , Back Four Brand Protection, in partnership with the Football Association of England and the Football Association of Wales, has seized a total of 54,400 fake football shirts, kits and socks since January. 

How to identify a counterfeit football shirt

• Check the price. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Look out for signs of poor quality. Poor stitching, fabric quality and fit are often tell-tale signs of a counterfeit product. Look inside the shirt and examine the quality of the stitching, particularly around the neckline and badge.
• Pay attention to detail. A counterfeit shirt may appear, for example, to have been made by Nike but have Adidas branding on the tag.
• Check the swing tag. Ensure that the swing tag attached to the shirt has a unique product code sticker (a barcode sticker) and that the same code has not been pre-printed and stuck on each swing tag. The swing tag should also include wording that specifically correlates to the product. If the text is generic, the shirt is counterfeit.
• Watch out for pen marks on the care labels. Check the care label inside the shirt for any numbers or marks that have been written using a pen. Counterfeit shirts often have pen marks on the care label as this is a method used by manufacturers to help count the number of items.
• Buy from reputable sellers. Always purchase from a reputable retailer to ensure you receive an official product. It is easy for criminals to use photos from official retailers on counterfeit websites. Buying from these websites can leave you at risk of having your personal and card details compromised, so always ensure that the website URL starts with 'http' or 'https'.
• Verify you have an authentic shirt. You can use authenticity checkers, like Kit Legit, to confirm if your shirt is genuine.