Arsenal have put measures in place to ensure tickets for next month’s blockbuster showdown with Real Madrid do not fall into the wrong hands.
The Gunners host Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the first leg will take place at Emirates Stadium on April 8.
Tickets for the game will be in high demand as Arsenal host the 15-time European champions for the first time since the Emirates opened in 2006.
The club are determined tickets in the home part of the ground only end up in the hands of “genuine Arsenal supporters” and have therefore organised a ballot and purchase embargo.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Arsenal explained: “This means that fans who purchase an Arsenal membership after Monday, March 3, 2025, will not be permitted to purchase tickets for this game.
“Anyone who enters a ballot for this match with a membership that is purchased after the embargo date, whether as an individual or as a group will have their whole ballot application invalidated.
“We have made this decision following consultation with the relevant authorities and to ensure we are in line with crowd segregation requirements.
“Please note any visiting supporters that purchase a ticket in the home end for this fixture will look to be ejected from the stadium.
“To ensure fairness and equal opportunity, tickets for home fixtures will be sold via a ballot system, exclusively for Arsenal members (embargo rules apply).
“Members will have a designated window to enter the ballot. You can choose to register individually or as a group of up to four members, if all supporters meet the necessary requirements.
“You can enter at any stage during the registration window, and your odds of success will remain the same.”
The ballot for tickets will run for March 17 to March 20. Ticket prices range from £74.30 to £141.
Arsenal have ramped up their efforts to tackle ticket touts, revealing they have cancelled more than 26,000 accounts this season that have attempted to obtain tickets in unauthorised ways.
The club view ticket touting as a serious matter, especially at a time when the demand for tickets at Emirates Stadium is greater than ever.
Arsenal’s anti-touting operation involves specialist third-party operatives on the ground, regular seat checks and home and away ticket collections at matches.
The ballot system for tickets also helps the club identify illegal ticket touting and bot activity.
The system identifies suspicious activity before tickets are allocated and so far this season Arsenal have cancelled more than 26,156 accounts attempting to obtain tickets in unauthorised ways, while 7,583 individual entries have also been removed from the ballot process due to suspicious activity.
