Last year, the NSW Government issued an “urgent public warning” about online ticket reseller Viagogo, after numerous complaints regarding their shady practices. The reseller has been turned into a ticketing pariah ever since, with complaints including delayed delivery, events being cancelled, heavily marked-up prices, hidden fees, and failure to provide refunds.
Now, FIFA is filing a criminal complaint against Viagogo to block it from selling tickets for the 2018 World Cup. It’s also threatening to cancel tickets bought anywhere other than the official FIFA website.
“Tickets purchased via unauthorised distribution channels, including all tickets purchased through Viagogo AG, will be cancelled once identified,” FIFA said in a statement. “FIFA reserves the right to refuse entry to the stadium to any holder of such tickets.”
The World Cup begins in Moscow today (June 14), with initial tickets for the World Cup final in July (at the 81,000 capacity Luzhniki Stadium) going for $1,100 price on the official FIFA site. On Viagogo, a single ticket for the World Cup final was listed for US$14,093.
The complaint was filed in Geneva following multiple complaints about Viagogo from individuals as well as from consumer protection agencies and other groups. It accuses Viagogo of unfair competition and “opaque and deceptive business conduct.”
The news follows a German court awarding FIFA a preliminary injunction against Viagogo in January. It banned the company from offering tickets for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. The injunction stated that any violation of the by Viagogo would be punishable by a fine of up to EUR 250,000 or imprisonment for up to six months.
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