England fans have cost Nike a huge sum of money by buying fake shirts

Nike have lost £6.5 million worth of sales through fans opting to buy cheaper, fake replicas from counterfeit websites – as per BettingSites. It is estimated that 26,000 fake England shirts have been sold on one counterfeit website alone.

With a replica shirt costing £85 from the Nike website, fans have been heavily critical of the kit manufacturer for the prices. The ‘dry-fit’ version of the kit costs even more, coming in at £125. With shirt prices so expensive, fans have been flocking to other retailers selling fake knockoffs.

There are German laws that aim to tackle the spread of counterfeit goods and could pose an issue for travelling England fans. Fines for wearing a fake shirt could rise as high as £4,000, according to The Mirror.

The European Championship begins next Friday as Germany take on Scotland. The Three Lions then play Serbia in their opening game of the tournament on Sunday 16 June.