Counterfeit football kits worth £18m seized as Fire Service warns of fire risk
Fake football jerseys worth more than £18 million were seized in England during the World Cup due to security concerns.
The tournament has led to a surge in sales of fake shirts and jerseys, but the Fire Brigade has warned these items are far more flammable and dangerous than genuine items.
More than 220,000 football items have been seized by the Police Intellectual Property Office as part of Operation Bloxwich, an enforcement effort by UK police targeting counterfeit goods.
One of the raids seized 1,618 fake strips from a warehouse in Birmingham, including replicas of star players including France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland.
Detective Sergeant Jamie Kirk, who was involved in the operation, told BBC Sport: “I understand why people want to buy these jerseys, people love football and the incentive is the low price. “But these jerseys are not regulated and can be extremely flammable.
“They contain dyes that can be harmful to the skin, especially children’s skin. Even though they are less costly – and that’s the attractive part – the potential harm to you and the people making them is very high.”
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service tested the flammability of the fake shirts compared to the original kit and found the fake kits were much more flammable.
“It’s pretty obvious that the fake one melted as soon as the furnace started,” said watch manager Dave Jackson, who conducted the test by hanging two by two on an iron rod and using blowtorches to set them on fire. “I had to try to ignite and melt what was truly original.”
One of the factors that increase the sales of fake kits is their low prices. Some official Premier League jerseys cost from £85, while some websites sell them for as little as £12.
“This is extremely dangerous. It’s something that could cause terrible injury to your children. It’s not worth the effort,” Jackson added.
Kate Caffrey, head of intelligence at the Intellectual Property Office, warned that fake shirts were not regulated.
“Counterfeit strips are not subject to health and safety regulations, British Standards [or] EU standards,” he told BBC Sport.
“We have evidence that counterfeit products are produced in appalling conditions, so you don’t know what’s in them, how they’re made, and there’s no way to provide any assurance of safety.
“Counterfeiting is a crime, they are produced and supplied by criminal networks and criminal gangs and they are very adept at targeting markets where there is demand. So for the World Cup, for the next Premier League season, they will flood the market with fake jerseys.
“The price of a fake shirt, you don’t know what you’re financing with that money.”
