Northumbria Police have seized almost 200 counterfeit England football shirts from an address in North Shields, with an estimated retail value of £17,000. I doubt that this will be the last seizure during the course of this year's Euro 2024 tournament, as counterfeiters look to take advantage of consumers' reluctance to pay full price for a genuine shirt.
The BBC recently wrote about the rising prices of football shirts and kits (around 18.6% since the 2002 World Cup), and how this is leading to consumers looking for cheaper options. The Mirror reported that England fans have paid over £2 million on fake shirts ahead of the Euros, resulting in Nike (the official kit supplier) suffering a loss of £6.5 million.
Large sporting events such as Euro 2024 and the Olympics always attract counterfeiters and whilst it might be tempting to save some money (and it might seem harmless to buy a fake football shirt), it is important to remember that counterfeiting is often linked to serious organised crime and it is by no means a victimless crime.
There are often links between counterfeit goods and organised crime, meaning the proceeds of sale are used by gangs both in the UK and abroad to fund other criminal operations - estimated at over £900m a year - according to the Premier League, external. It also says fake goods "may pose a risk to the health and safety of fans".
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