Counterfeit football shirts worth more than £18m have been seized across the UK during the World Cup – with the Fire Service warning the fakes are dangerously flammable and could cause horrific injuries.
More than 220,000 pieces of football merchandise were recovered by the Police Intellectual Property Office as part of Operation Bloxwich, a UK police enforcement effort targeting counterfeit goods. One raid involved 1,618 fake strips taken from a warehouse in Birmingham, including replicas of star players such as France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland.
“Police seized £18m of counterfeit football shirts during World Cup, with fire service warning they are highly flammable and dangerous.”
Detective Sergeant Jamie Kirk, who took part in the operation, told BBC Sport: “I understand why people want to buy these shirts, people love football and the incentive is the lower price – but these shirts, they’re not regulated and could be highly flammable. They have dyes in them which could be harmful to skin, particularly children’s skin. While the cost is lower – and that’s the attractive part – potential damages to you and the people making them is just far too high.”
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service tested the flammability of counterfeit shirts against genuine kit and found the fakes were much more flammable. Watch manager Dave Jackson, who carried out the test by hanging them two at a time on an iron bar and using blow torches to set them alight, said: “It’s quite clear that the counterfeit one melted as soon as the burner went on it. I really had to try to make the genuine one ignite and melt.”
“It’s extremely dangerous. It’s something that can cause horrific injuries to your children. It’s just not worth the savings,” Jackson added.
One of the factors driving sales of counterfeit kits is their low price. Several websites sell them for as little as £12, while the cost of some official Premier League strips starts at £85.
Kate Caffrey, head of intelligence at the Intellectual Property Office, warned that fake shirts are not regulated. “Counterfeit strips are not subject to health and safety regulations, British Standards [or] EU standards,” she told BBC Sport. “We’ve got evidence that counterfeit goods are made in appalling conditions, so you just don’t know what’s in them, how they’re being made and there’s no way of providing any safety reassurances.”
“Counterfeiting is criminal, these are manufactured and supplied by criminal networks, criminal gangs and they’re very adept at targeting markets where there’s demand. So the World Cup, the forthcoming Premier League season – they’re going to flood the market with fake shirts.”
The operation seized the goods amid a spike in sales triggered by the tournament, but the dangers extend beyond the pocket. As the Premier League season approaches, police and fire services have urged fans to buy official merchandise – or risk far more than a bad deal.