Chelsea Fans Outraged Over Ticket Resale Prices Linked to Chairman Todd Boehly
Chelsea supporters are expressing their upset and confusion over the inflated ticket prices for the club's FA Cup semi-final against Leeds at Wembley Stadium. The tickets, listed on Vivid Seats, a resale platform partly owned by Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly, range from $200 (£148) to a staggering $2,308 (£1,705), significantly exceeding their face value of £30 to £150. The listings appeared before tickets became available to Chelsea season ticket holders, raising concerns among fans. Over 100 tickets were available across all four stands, including those designated for both Chelsea and Leeds fans. Dominic Rosso, chair of the Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST), criticized the situation, stating, "When tickets for major matches are appearing on resale platforms at hugely inflated prices, it makes clear that the system simply isn't working for regular fans." He highlighted a specific example where a seat in the same block was priced at $470 (£346) on Vivid Seats. Despite the listings not being visible to UK customers, they can be accessed using a VPN, leading to allegations of a conflict of interest for Boehly. The CST has reached out to the Premier League regarding Boehly's involvement, prompting a response that found no breach of rules. However, the CST remains dissatisfied, indicating that the current rules do not adequately address ownership links to secondary ticketing platforms. They expressed concerns that this loophole undermines efforts against ticket touting. Last season, Chelsea took significant action against touting, ejecting 1,393 individuals from Stamford Bridge for possession of touted tickets and blocking over 350,000 attempted purchases through their system. The ongoing resale practices linked to Boehly's financial interests pose a challenge to these efforts, making genuine fans wary of missing out on tickets altogether.
Source: BBC Sport - 2026-04-17