Chelsea fans are said to have lost all faith in the club to combat touting after it emerged that a website co-owned by Todd Boehly is involved in the “unauthorised” but legal resale of tickets to their matches.
Members of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) suggested Boehly’s connection to the US-based Vivid Seats, of which he is a director, was a “breach of trust” and could be a “conflict of interest”.
CST released the results of a survey regarding touting and the resale of tickets on third-party websites two days after the Daily Telegraph exclusively revealed Vivid Seats listed for sale to overseas fans tickets for matches involving Chelsea and other Premier League clubs for tens of thousands of pounds.
Vivid Seats is on the Premier League’s list of “unauthorised ticketing websites” and although it does not allow fans based in Britain to either buy or sell tickets – a practice which would be illegal – it does permit foreign-based users to tout them.
It also charges 10 per cent commission and a service fee reported to run from 20 to 40 per cent of the original price, raising the prospect of Boehly profiting from activity his own club have repeatedly denounced.
The CST survey found that only 17 per cent of supporters had confidence in Chelsea to combat touting and fewer than 10 per cent believe enough was being done to confront it.
‘The lifeblood of Chelsea FC’
The trust said in a statement: “The alarming findings of this survey have indicated that supporters do not have faith or trust in Chelsea FC to combat ticket touting and that the club has failed to protect its loyal supporters from the ongoing exploitation of ticket touting.
“It is vital that the club provides immediate reassurances to supporters and must demonstrate that they are taking effective action to combat ticket touting through greater communication, stricter resale policies and sanctions, and additional enforcement against illegal ticket selling.
“Despite warnings from the CST, the trend of data indicates that supporters have become increasingly dissatisfied with anti-touting measures in place at Chelsea FC over the past two to three years. Now is the time to take proper, meaningful steps to address this. This is not simply about ticketing, this is about respecting and protecting the lifeblood of Chelsea FC – its supporters.”
It added: “Vivid Seats currently lists hundreds of Chelsea FC general admission tickets at significantly inflated prices.
“Within the recent CST ticket touting survey, many CST members suggested that Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is a ‘breach of trust’ and could be a conflict of interest.
“These recent reports are very disappointing, and it is within Mr Boehly’s best interests to investigate these issues and address supporters’ concerns – we do not believe it is appropriate for any Chelsea tickets or wider Premier League tickets to be listed on the Vivid Seats website.”
Chelsea and a representative of Boehly have been approached for comment.
