On 1 December, a policeman called his residence and requested to talk with him, upon which a relative replied with “he’s in Qatar”.
A British ticket scalper who was barred from all football stadiums has been locked up in the United Kingdom after authorities confirmed he travelled to Qatar for the World Cup late last year.
48-year-old Stuart O’Brien pretended to be in Ireland for a family event when detectives rang his family home and a relative informed them that he was in fact in Qatar.
For purchasing tickets in bulk and reselling them for profit in Liverpool, he was given a five-year football ban back in February 2021.
He was prohibited from attending any matches in the United Kingdom and was not permitted to be in a certain areas near Liverpool FC’s home stadium for six hours prior to kickoff and for one hour following the game.
O’Brien was also banned from travelling to Qatar for the World Cup late last year.
All those affected by the World Cup bans received letters from the Football Banning Orders Authority (FBOA) on 17 October instructing them to turn in their passports at their local police station.
O’Brien, a resident of Liverpool’s Anfield neighbourhood, was given a pass after claiming he would be attending a family wedding in Ireland. He said he would go on 14 November, arrive back on 17 November, and turn in his passport the next day.
He had also handed in documentation of his reservations for travel and lodging.
Through an email on 17 November, he informed the FBOA that he would be spending an additional week with family in Ireland. He presented documentation of a hotel booking that covered a stay through to 4 December.
The FBOA twice sent the ticket salesman emails requesting him to confirm his return flight reservation to the UK, but did not receive a response back.
On 1 December, a policeman called his residence and requested to talk with him, upon which a relative replied with “he’s in Qatar”.
Police who searched the home of a relative in the city’s Everton neighbourhood regarding an unrelated incident found a Hayya card along with several hospitality option tickets for various England games in Qatar and a large number of tickets for the USA versus Wales match on 21 November.
During the World Cup last year, British police personnel on duty in Qatar also sent photos to Merseyside Police of O’Brien.
The discoveries led to his arrest and on 26 April at Sefton Magistrates’ Court, he entered a plea of guilty to disobeying a football ban and was sentenced to a 12-week jail term.
A district court informed him that because of his outrageous behaviour, there was no choice but to imprison him.
“Football banning orders are one of the many tools available to the justice system for imposition on offenders who are convicted of crimes related to our national game and we take a zero tolerance to those who try to flout them,” said Crown Prosecution Service national football lead Douglas Mackay, according to reports.
“The CPS continues to play a crucial role in tackling these crimes and making our national game inclusive, and safe to watch and play in.”
He went on to explain that ticket touting in football is intolerable and essentially detracts from the experience of legitimate fans and probably encourages additional illegal activity.
“We will continue to work closely with the police, football authorities and fan groups to stamp this out,” Mackay said.
