Suhail Patel - a Manchestor United fan invented hundreds of names for tickets in a series of applications.

Patel pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of specimen fraud in relation to the false names. The season ticket holder would go to matches with friends and family but also resold most of his tickets to the public. The court heard he made a profit of £14,000 over a four-month period.

According to UK press reports, the judge, in sentencing Patel, said, "By doing what you did it meant the genuine followers of the game, people who save money to go to matches, were deprived of the opportunity of getting tickets and have had to paid more for them than otherwise they would have done."

A number of the more than 650 tickets he bought between June and October 2007 were also sold on to other brokers.

Judge Slinger added, "There is the potential that by selling on to touts the tickets may have gone into the hands of people who have the potential of causing trouble."

Patel spent £20,130 on 443 England home internationals and £8,940 on 223 tickets for Manchester United home games in the 2007/08 season. He used mainly Asian names in his applications but also posed as Mr Charming, Dr Bowels, Mr Sinatra, Mr Rhubarb and Mr Gravy. Tickets were sent either to his home or a business address in Blakey Moor, Blackburn.