On the eve of the opening of the Euro, an alarming observation: customs have seized nearly 4,000 counterfeit football jerseys at Liège airport since the start of the year. China is the main supplier of these fraudulent items, a reality that concerns the authorities on the eve of the European championship and the Paris Olympic Games.
Every day, 2 to 3 million packages arrive at Liège airport. Since the start of the year, there have been 14 times more football jerseys seized than normal. Belgium, France, Portugal, Germany, 3,865 counterfeit jackets have already been destroyed. “We limit ourselves to placing a suspicion on them and then we bring in experts who will confirm or not whether they are counterfeits and 95% of the times, customs is not mistaken, the doubt is confirmed and at that at that point, the goods are seized“, explains Nicolas Wengler-Mathieu, head of the customs controls division.
First clues
The price is a good indicator, an item that is too cheap is probably fake, quality and poor finishing are also signs of a counterfeit. “The first thing we will look at is the origin. Already depending on the origin, the packaging here, you look, you have a poor quality package“, continues Nicolas Wengler-Mathieu.
These goods mainly come from China, 170 customs officers work here at Liège airport and yet only 0.006% of goods are checked. “The number 1 country where counterfeiting comes from is China and Bierset is truly a gateway for Chinese products into the European Union. It’s really a tsunami“, declares Kristian Vanderwaeren, general administrator of Belgian customs.
It’s almost impossible for the consumer to tell the difference.
Counterfeit networks are modernizing and increasingly using applications to offer you fraudulent items. TikTok, Temu for example, there are also many sites that imitate those of big brands. “It is almost impossible for the consumer to tell the difference between the official website of a company and the one that has been counterfeited.“, specifies Kristian Vanderwaeren.
Belgian customs now expects a significant increase in counterfeit items in connection with the Paris Olympic Games.
Euro 2024 football shirts
