Counterfeit football shirts worth over £18m were seized in the UK during the course of the World Cup because of safety concerns. The tournament produced a spike in the sales of fake shirts and kits, but the Fire Service has warned that these items are far more flammable and dangerous than the genuine articles. More than 220,000 pieces of football merchandise were recovered by the Police Intellectual Crime Unit as part of Operation Bloxwich, a UK police enforcement effort targeting counterfeit goods. "They have dyes in them which could be harmful to skin, particularly children's skin. While the cost is lower - and that's the attractive part - potential damages to you and the people making them is just far too high."