Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 7y

Real Madrid clamp down after illegal Clasico season ticket resale

Real Madrid have withdrawn season tickets from 357 club members for "irregular use" after an investigation into the illegal resale of tickets for last weekend's Clasico.

The clash with Barcelona -- the world's most popular domestic club fixture -- is officially sold out long in advance, but tickets were available on the internet for prices in excess of €1,000.

Reselling without permission is against Spanish law, and Real said in a statement that they had been working with law enforcement officials and identified 357 individuals who could now be expelled from the club.

"The sale of season tickets, without authorisation from the club, its non-free transfer, its auction or its use for commercial purposes is explicitly prohibited," the statement said.

"The titled owner of the season ticket is responsible for the proper use of it, as included in the rules of access to the Bernabeu.

"On the occasion of the Clasico, the club's quality control service, in coordination with the state security forces, has withdrawn a total of 357 season tickets after having detected an irregular use of them."

The statement said the matter "may lead to the expulsion of the holders of these season tickets as members of Real Madrid" and that the club was "working hard to combat this illegal practice."

The statement was welcomed by a Madrid fans' group which had complained about the sight of Barcelona shirts dotted around the Bernabeu as the visitors won 3-2 with an injury-time Lionel Messi goal.

However, some of the members affected are contesting the disciplinary action, with one group taking legal action against the club.

Marca reported that about 2,000 Madrid season tickets are owned by companies looking to make a profit.

The companies sell admission to the stadium on a game-by-game basis, with prices for a seat for the most attractive fixtures as high as €4,000.

Information provided to ESPN FC by Stubhub.com said purchasers from 70 different countries had bought tickets for the Clasico using its system.

Eleven percent of these were purchased in Spain, with the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, China and the UK the other countries with the largest number of buyers.

Approximately 2,000 tickets were sold at an average price of €1,080.

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