Latest news with #ticketreselling
Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Premier League questions Chelsea over ‘unauthorised ticket seller' co-owned by Todd Boehly
The Premier League has demanded answers from Chelsea over the 'unauthorised' reselling of Premier League tickets by a website co-owned by Todd Boehly. In an open letter, the Chelsea Supporters' Trust requested in March that the English top tier act 'swiftly' in investigating club chairman Boehly's involvement in Vivid Seats. Richard Masters, the league's chief executive, has now confirmed at a Football Supporters' Association event that the competition had written to the club. According to minutes of the recent FSA event, Masters 'confirmed the PL [Premier League] had written to Chelsea to seek clarification on the club's position with the matter ongoing. RM [Masters] advised the PL would reply to CST [Chelsea Supporters' Trust] once the PL had concluded its discussions with the club.' Telegraph Sport first reported in February how Vivid Seats, a US-based online marketplace of which Boehly is both an investor and director, was allowing foreign-based users to buy and sell Premier League tickets for up to tens of thousands of pounds. Boehly has not been accused of any wrongdoing. CST had asked the league to 'act and investigate' the situation which they believe is both a 'breach of trust' and 'a clear conflict of interest'. The trust has also submitted evidence against the American company to the Government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Chelsea recently pledged to take action on ticket touting but did not name Vivid Seats or other ticket resellers. Vivid does not allow fans based in Britain to buy or sell tickets – the latter of which would be illegal – but its business model does raise the prospect of Chelsea co-owner Boehly profiting from the kind of activity his own club have repeatedly denounced. The CST wrote in its March letter to Masters: 'We have received a significant amount of correspondence from concerned CST members and supporters from the wider Chelsea FC fan base on this issue that cannot be ignored.' Boehly has not commented but Vivid Seats previously said in a statement: 'As a global business, we are always respectful and cognisant of local regulatory policies and procedures that are in place in any market to ensure we are compliant. As such, our policy restricts the sale of EPL tickets from UK sellers. We can confirm that we do not have any UK sellers listing EPL inventory on our marketplace. Additionally, Vivid Seats does not and has never directly marketed or advertised Premier League tickets to UK customers.' Boehly, a director and investor in Vivid, described as an 'unauthorised ticket seller' by the league, also owns a 13 per cent stake in Chelsea.
Daily Mail
22-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Premier League begin talks with Chelsea over Todd Boehly's controversial ownership of ticket reselling website Vivid Seats
The Premier League have entered into talks with Chelsea amid Todd Boehly 's controversial ownership of the ticket reselling website Vivid Seats. Blues supporters previously called on the footballing authorities to look into the third-party platform which has been panned by critics as tickets can be resold for prices far higher than their face value. Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executive, has now confirmed during their structured dialogue meeting with the Football Supporters' Association that they have written to Chelsea. It is also mentioned in the minutes from that meeting that Masters will let the Chelsea Supporters' Trust know once he has concluded his conversations with the club. Boehly, who is part of the BlueCo consortium which owns Chelsea, is an investor and director in Vivid Seats. Vivid Seats were previously found to be selling Chelsea tickets at a premium, with the club's home clash with Liverpool listed for up to £20,000. The platform is listed by the Premier League as an 'unauthorised ticket website'. On their website, the Premier League urges fans to 'exercise extreme caution' when dealing with unauthorised ticket websites, including Vivid Seats.
