Mick Gorrill, Head of Enforcement at the ICO, said:
“In September 2010, the ICO opened an investigation into allegations that a database containing the personal information of 250,000 individuals who had purchased tickets for football matches in the 2006 FIFA World Cup competition in Germany, had been unlawfully sold on the black market. This followed allegations made in the Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet.
“The newspaper alleged that personal information, including the passport details of 35,689 ticket purchasers from the UK were included on a database that had been sold to an organisation in Norway. Dagbladet also reported that an individual employed by a company based in Manchester, which the newspaper described as FIFA’s official ticket provider, had offered to sell ticket lists.
“The ICO’s investigation has found that the ticketing database was created by a company in Germany working on behalf of the German Football Association and the FIFA World Cup Organising Committee in Germany. Subsequent enquiries were also made by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority on behalf of the ICO.
“The ICO has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that any person has unlawfully obtained personal information within the UK, or that any person or organisation has breached UK data protection laws.
“We have no reason to believe that the passport details of ticket purchasers from the UK are at risk. However, anyone with concerns is welcome to contact our helpline on 0303 123 1113.”